tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58373178236542600792024-02-19T17:09:34.386-08:00Scruffy Nerfherder- Reviews of Movies, Games, Comics, and MoreAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-89378040572973615572014-09-23T00:01:00.000-07:002014-09-23T14:56:30.309-07:00<h2>
<b><u>Scruffy Nerfherder Presents: The Top 12 Best Disney Villains</u></b></h2>
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<b>By Andrew Braid</b></h3>
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Ah Disney, one of the few true constants in my life. Ever since I was little you've been there for me, whether with all manner of VHS tapes or in your now-yearly slate of new films that I'd often get excited to see in theatres (and considering I was a 90s kid growing up in the middle of the Disney Renaissance, I'd say it was a great time to become a Disney fan). You've made me laugh, made me cry, occasionally made me cringe at dated, uncomfortable stereotypes... any which way, you're a major part of why I grew up to love film (and in particular animation) like I do today. Seeing as Disney Animation's latest film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3biFxZIJOQ" target="_blank"><i>Big Hero 6</i></a> (their 54th official full-length feature) prepares to blast off into theatres on November 7, I'd say it's as convenient an excuse as any to write up a bunch of Disney articles over the next month or so leading up to its release. And what better way to start than with one of the most popular and hotly-debated questions among fans: Who are the greatest Disney villains ever?<br />
Part of Disney's longstanding success can be attributed to giving their loveable heroes equally dastardly foes to face. Whether they're after money, power, a throne, revenge, or they're just flat-out crazy, the best of the best in Disney's stable of big bads manage to be frightening, imposing, funny, creepy, or even all of the above. In fact there's so many good ones that narrowing it down to merely a Top 10 just didn't prove possible for me. So let's look back through Disney films old and new to find the baddest of the bad guys and gals.</div>
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First, here are the ground rules:</div>
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-They must be the main villain of the movie. Sidekicks only qualify if their pairing with the main villain feels essential (ie. you can't seem to separate the two).</div>
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-This list only applies to theatrically-released, official-canon Disney Animation features</div>
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-However, Pixar Animation films are also eligible for this list (though don't expect a lot of them on here- Pixar's output is surprisingly lacking in exceptional villains)</div>
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-This list is all personal opinion (and for fun), so it's pretty likely that your own choices will vary at least somewhat, maybe even drastically.</div>
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Before we truly begin, a few <b><u>honourable mentions:</u></b></div>
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<b>The Queen (<i>Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs</i>) </b></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130630090059/disney/images/f/f2/SW_Queen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130630090059/disney/images/f/f2/SW_Queen.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: small;">Because you gotta respect the classics.</span></span></td></tr>
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<b>Captain Hook (<i>Peter Pan</i>)</b></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110829045616/disney/images/4/45/13145936776850.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110829045616/disney/images/4/45/13145936776850.jpeg" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Because this is a prime example of how to make a villain funny, but also still threatening.</span></td></tr>
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<b>Prince John and The Sheriff of Nottingham (<i>Robin Hood</i>)</b></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140726214859/villains/images/c/cc/1-1-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140726214859/villains/images/c/cc/1-1-.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Because spoiled mommy's boy </span><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">+ shameless money-gouging scoundrel = comic gold.</span></td></tr>
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<b>Hades (<i>Hercules</i>)</b></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://scibbe.com/wp-content/2012/04/herc_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://scibbe.com/wp-content/2012/04/herc_01.jpg" height="240" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Because he's easily the biggest saving grace in a flawed movie that could use a few more saving graces.</span></td></tr>
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<b>Lotso (<i>Toy Story 3</i>)</b></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140127170152/disney/images/8/8d/Lotso-angry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140127170152/disney/images/8/8d/Lotso-angry.jpg" height="206" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Because some of the best villains are the kinds who just "snapped" one day...</span></td></tr>
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<b>Hans (<i>Frozen</i>)</b></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140310203412/disney/images/1/16/HansBetrayel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140310203412/disney/images/1/16/HansBetrayel.jpg" height="177" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Because seriously, what a dick.</span></td></tr>
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And now for the main event, the <b><u>Top 12 Best Disney Villains</u></b>, starting with...</div>
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<b><u>#12: Cruella de Vil (<i>101 Dalmatians</i>)</u></b></h4>
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<i><b>Cruella:</b> Anita, darling!</i><br />
<i><b>Anita: </b>How are you?</i><br />
<i><b>Cruella:</b> Miserable, darling, as usual, perfectly wretched!"</i><br />
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Why is this a Top 12 and not just a regular old Top 10? Because despite slipping out of initial Top 10 rankings when making this countdown, no one can deny this iconically heartless fur-lover her time in the spotlight. <i>101 Dalmatians</i> is a pretty solid talking animals Disney movie on its own, but what makes it not just one of the classics but one of the most historically popular and enduring entries in Disney's animation canon is its villainess. Aside from being a garish, scathing parody of any rich high-ups in the fashion industry, Cruella proves she's a real-deal "DeVil" (ha!) as she organizes the kidnapping, murder and skinning of dozens of adorable puppies, all for the sake of a fur coat that she'd probably stop wearing after a month anyway once her next big thing comes along. When she wants something she will do anything (and I mean literally <b>ANYTHING</b>) to get it, especially if it means <a href="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyznop10ue1qfvjq1.gif" target="_blank">wreaking havoc through the roads like a madwoman</a>. She spreads disgusting cigarette smoke and ill will to anyone she comes across, and she's only really happy when that happiness comes at the expense of other people's misery.<br />
Her theme song says it all: if she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will.<br />
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<b><u>#11: Lady Tremaine (<i>Cinderella</i>)</u></b></h4>
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<i><b>Tremaine: </b>"Now, let me see... There's the large carpet in the main hall- clean it! And the windows upstairs and down- wash them! Oh yes, and the tapestries and draperies..."</i><br />
<i><b>Cinderella: </b>"But I just finished-"</i><br />
<i><b>Tremaine: </b>"Do them again! And don't forget the garden. Then scrub the terrace, sweep the halls and the stairs, clean the chimneys. And of course there's the mending and the sewing and the laundry..."</i><br />
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What. A. Bitch.<br />
Lady Tremaine is one of the more innately human of Disney's villains, namely in how simple her forms of cruelty are. She's not some all-powerful demon witch, but an ordinary 50 or 60-something woman who treats her unwanted yet oh-so-nice and pretty stepdaughter like garbage every chance she gets. She's not a woman of great power or standing (although it's obvious she wants to be and always tries to play the part), but what power she does have, namely that of control over Cinderella, she rules with an iron fist. Not only will she do everything she can to ensure our passive young heroine will never get her happily ever after, but she's the kind of sinister person who'll revel in building up Cinderella's hopes only to have them torn away from her. Her design is classic, with a glare that can pierce like daggers and an uppity smirk of self-satisfaction that still makes my skin shiver. She's the kind of villain we love to hate because she reminds us of our innate human capacity to be every bit as cruel, self-serving and spiteful as she is.<br />
Seriously, what a bitch.<br />
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<b><u>#10: Shere Khan (<i>The Jungle Book</i>)</u></b></h4>
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<i><b>Shere Khan:</b> "Why should you run? Is it possible you don't know who I am?"</i><br />
<i><b>Mowgli:</b> "I know you alright. You're Shere Khan."</i><br />
<i><b>Shre Khan:</b> "Precisely. And you should know that everyone runs from Shere Khan."</i><br />
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Shere Khan's built up quite a notorious, fearsome reputation for himself across the jungle- from the wolves to the elephants his name incites panic-stricken fear. And not only does Shere Khan himself know this, he <b>revels</b> in it, making it clear with the utmost calm and class that he is not to be f***ed with. Even as the hypnotizing snake Kaa (who's a fun villain in his own right) has Mowgli right in his clutches, he's left cowering in the face of Khan- he's just the kind of presence that you don't dare to ignore. A major part of the character's appeal is his voice, that of Oscar-winning actor George Sanders (most famous for playing Addison DeWitt in <i>All About Eve</i>), who captures the perfect balance of intimidating and sophisticated (my favourite moments happens during the scene pictured above, when he starts scratching Kaa with his claws in a hilariously casual, almost absentminded manner, as if he doesn't even know that he's doing it). He's one of the rare cases of a villain who not only has a serious ego, but proves with every moment he gets why that ego is warranted.</div>
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<b><u>#9: Charles Muntz (<i>Up</i>)</u></b></h4>
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<i>"An old man taking his house to Paradise Falls... </i><br />
<i>...and that's the best one yet. I can't wait to hear how it ends..."</i></div>
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<b><br /></b>One of only two Pixar villains to make it on this list (you can probably guess who the other one is), Charles Muntz really seems like anything but a villain at first. For the first half of the film we know him mostly as a brave, intrepid explorer and the inspirational idol for old Carl Fredricksen since he was a boy, and when we meet him again many years later he proves quite friendly and accommodating to his guests (even if his tracker dogs haven't made the best impression). But then we find out about his search for the lost bird (Kevin), the bird he's vowed to find and prove the existence of for decades now, and that's when any pretensions of hospitality start to crumble away and we see just how far down he's gone into his own personal <i>Heart of Darkness</i>-style descent into madness. This really gets to what makes Muntz stand out as a villain compared to so many others of the Disney/Pixar ilk: there was a time when he was in fact a good, decent man. He's been searching for so long in order to regain the reputation he lost, and has lost countless dogs trying to search an impossible maze, that part of you can't help but empathize with him. But it becomes clear soon enough that the good man that used to be Charles Muntz is long gone, with only an obsessed, paranoid, ruthless and murderous shell of a maniac remaining in his stead. The scene where he knocks down a row of pilot's helmets one by one is genuinely terrifying at any age, and coupled with Christopher Plummer's unhinged performance it makes abundantly clear that what Muntz may lack in youth he more than makes up for with merciless drive.</div>
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<b><u>#8: Yzma and Kronk (<i>The Emperor's New Groove</i>)</u></b></h4>
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<i><b>Yzma: </b>"Excellent. A few drops in his drink, and then I'll propose a toast, and he will be dead before dessert."</i><br />
<i><b>Kronk:</b> "Which is a real shame, because it's gonna be delicious."</i><br />
<b><br /></b><i>The Emperor's New Groove</i> is a surprisingly great film in Disney's canon despite how decidedly un-Disney it feels (it shares much more in common with old-school screwball <i>Looney Tunes</i> comedy), and if you asked anyone what the key ingredient to that success must be, they'd undoubtedly have to give big credit to scheming advisor Yzma and her lovably doltish right-hand man Kronk. Voiced by the legendary Eartha Kitt and comic voice actor extraordinaire Patrick Warburton, these two easily steal every scene, showcasing an endlessly riotous rapport that feels downright timeless in its appeal. While Yzma is plenty good enough to stand as a villainess on her own merits of enthusiastic scheming and ego-centric lust for power (one only knows there's never enough great female comedy villains out there), the oh-so-loveable Kronk is like the perfect yang to her cunning yin, to the point where imagining the two apart just doesn't feel right. You know that Kronk is too nice and well-meaning a guy to be working for Yzma, but damn it he just seems to be having too much carefree fun with everything he does, whether he knows its evil or not. Together they make an unforgettable team that will leave you rolling in the aisles (and hopefully that's not because they poisoned your drink).</div>
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<b><u>#7: Gaston (<i>Beauty and the Beast</i>)</u></b></h4>
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<i>"It's not right for a woman to read! Soon she starts getting <u>ideas</u>, and <u>thinking</u>..."</i><br />
<b><br /></b>It hardly even needs to be said: no one brags, no one pursues, and no one utterly loves himself like Gaston. What makes Gaston unique is how in any other fairy tale-style story he's probably be the hero: a tall, muscled, good-looking hunter and town hero who's the best at everything. Well, except handling rejection: his constant, insistent pursuit of Belle's hand in marriage is based completely off his own shallowness and inflated ego that tells him he deserves the best and won't take no for an answer. To him Belle is just the prettiest face in a town with a handful of pretty faces to go around, and not a free-thinking woman whose intellect and kindness deserves to be appreciated and respected. But seeing how Gaston is a "hero" who's surrounded himself with yes-men, no one will stop him when he takes drastic and even despicable measures for the sake of his own selfish goals, including having her innocent father locked away if Belle doesn't submit to him. And yet, despite all that awful things Gaston is capable of, despite all the underlying darkness of his soul... he's just too much fun to watch for you to actually hate him. Instead of being disgusted by him you mostly find yourself too busy laughing in incredulous disbelief, saying to yourself "Is this guy for <u>real?!</u>" It certainly helps that he has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuJTqmpBnI0" target="_blank">a whole song devoted to how awesome he is</a>, and you have to give the guy credit because <b>man</b> is it fun and catchy as all hell. The definition of conceited, Gaston is a perfect example of the Disney villain we love to hate.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
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<b><u>#6: Ursula (<i>The Little Mermaid</i>)</u></b></h4>
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<i>"My dear, sweet child. That's what I do. It's what I live for, to help unfortunate merfolk, like yourself, poor souls with no one else to turn to..."</i><br />
<b><br /></b>Inspired by the drag queen Divine (most famous for her starring turn in the go-for-broke John Waters film <i>Pink Flamingos</i>), Ursula is a Disney villain with a true diva attitude. While others may shame her and think her a hideous sea witch, Ursula shows real pride in herself and her body, and consequently loves to take advantage of all those "poor unfortunate souls" who can't just be happy with how they are. That desire to change yourself, to become beautiful and "perfect" to impress that special someone you're crushing over, is exactly the kind of anxiety and longing that Ursula preys upon to give herself more power, and when she sees her opportunity to get the favourite daughter of King Triton added to her collection she knows she's hit the jackpot. This leads into <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfkkMHieqcI" target="_blank">yet another classic among classic Disney villain tunes</a> (yeah, there's a fair number of those), a number that embodies her character in a nutshell: seductive in her promises, but barely even hiding her untrustworthiness. Unlike many other villains on this list Ursula often observes and spies from a distance, having her twin eels act as her eyes while she watches her plans unfold. But when the time for action beckons she's more than willing to get her own hands dirty, disguising herself as a beautiful maiden with a literally hypnotic voice if it means ensuring naive young Ariel fails to uphold her bargain (besides, this diva wouldn't <b>dare</b> let some skinny little tramp get her hands on the stud in the end). Unlike many other villains out there, Ursula's pride in herself is the kind you can't help but admire and respect, even if she devotes her life to swindling shallow impressionable fools out of their lives.</div>
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<b><u>#5: Scar (<i>The Lion King</i>)</u></b></h4>
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<i>"Long live the king."</i></div>
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Scar always tends to rank pretty high among most people's lists of Disney villains, and there's plenty of good reasons why. For one, he deserves credit for being one of the few Disney villains whose big master plan, you know, <i>actually succeeds</i>: Mufasa dies, Simba vanishes without a trace, and he ascends to the throne for several years (even if he's later dethroned by Simba's return, he still pretty much got everything he wanted). But it takes more than mere accomplishments to make a villain great, and Scar's got plenty of conniving personality to spare. He's an expert manipulator that would fit right into a Shakespeare tragedy (well, aside from the whole "being a talking lion" part), calculating enough to toy with the emotions of others and convince them to doubt not just others but also themselves. He's got that equally upper-class and slimy voice (provided by the awesome Jeremy Irons) that makes his presence so amusingly sly yet decidedly uneasy. He has plenty of Nazi-marching hyenas to get dirty work done for him, but still proves deadly when forced to enter the fight himself. And then there's his big musical number <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkU23m6yX04" target="_blank">"Be Prepared"</a>, which still handily ranks among the best villain numbers of any Disney film.<br />
In a rare case for a Disney film, we actually get to see how the villain does once he's actually gained the power he's been after, and let's just say Scar's much better at usurping rulership than actually ruling. He leaves Pride Rock to darkness and ruin, uncaring towards anyone's needs but his own, childishly irresponsible in a position of power that requires accepting the far-reaching duties of a real adult. Nevertheless, Scar proves a formidable schemer, fighter and puppet-master that no denizen of Pride Rock should ever underestimate.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not to mention how he made himself the animal kingdom's definition of <b>fabulous</b>.</span></td></tr>
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<b><u>#4: Syndrome (<i>The Incredibles</i>)</u></b></h4>
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<i>"You sly dog! You got me monologuing!"</i></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b>Yep, you know once I said I was allowing Pixar villains on this list that Syndrome just <b>HAD</b> to pop up somewhere. As comic book supervillains go, Syndrome's origins are an interesting twist to say the least. An obsessed fanboy who grows up feeling bitter and rejected, he uses his amazing technological know-how to build himself a Bond-style evil lair in a deserted island volcano (he clearly took some notes from <i>You Only Live Twice</i>- as does much of the movie, come to think of it). While his rage and motivation comes from a childish and petty place, the severity and darkness of his actions and outlook make him a force to be reckoned with. This is a man who's already killed <u><b>dozens</b> </u>of former superheroes before he even started courting Mr. Incredible to his island, a man whose second-in command Mirage is held hostage under threat of death and he doesn't even flinch. Combine that with a smirking smartass personality and an ingenious master plan that will render superheroes obsolete (you gotta admit, it's pretty cool), and you've got yourself a bad guy who stands among the best that comic books have to offer.<br />
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<b><u>#3: Professor Ratigan (<i>The Great Mouse Detective</i>)</u></b></h4>
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<i>"Oh, I love it when I'm nasty."</i></div>
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If there's any Disney villain out there who's not getting enough appreciation, it's Ratigan. The Moriarty to Basil of Baker Street's Sherlock, Ratigan is without a doubt the most gleefully, shamelessly fun villain of any Disney film to date. Sure he commits all manner of dastardly deeds and devious plots for the sake of power and settling a score with his oh-so-clever rival, but really he just does it because he just <b>enjoys</b> being evil. He's not just over-the-top, he's <u>so</u> over-the-top that he makes most Bond villains look toned down by comparison. He'll drown widows and orphans not because they did anything to him, but because he wanted another evil deed to boast about in his musical number (plus he was probably just bored that weekend). But what really makes him interesting and even scary beyond that "evil because WHEEEE!" motivation is how his huge ego conflicts with his self-image complex. He's a big hulking rat, a "lower" beast of a creature who goes to great lengths to hide what he really is behind fabulous suits and a classy sense of style. When characters like Basil point out what he really is ("no more than a rat") it drives Ratigan up the wall with rage, and you can see it clean on his face even when he tries his best to hide it. If there's one thing Ratigan can't stand it's having to face himself in a mirror, and by the time we reach <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye4cbL77dw4" target="_blank">the spectacular Big Ben clocktower climax</a> he completely gives up any pretense and reveals the true savage beast lurking inside him all this time. Suddenly this comically overblown baddie becomes a genuinely frightening presence, and we realize that he never really needed that damn cat to threaten people with in the first place- in fact the cat seems less scary now.<br />
Plus come on, he's voiced by Vincent f***ing Price. You <b>have</b> to rank him high for that alone.</div>
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<b><u>#2: Maleficent (<i>Sleeping Beauty</i>)</u></b></h4>
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<i>"Well, quite a glittering assemblage King Stefan. Royalty, nobility, the gentry, and...</i><br />
<i>...oh, how quaint- even the rabble."</i><br />
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Before she became a revenge-seeking antihero-turned-mother figure played by Angelina Jolie, Maleficent was known as the "mistress of all evil", a powerful, spiteful sorceress who you <b>really</b> shouldn't forget to invite to your next baby shower (come on guys, it'll take like 2 minutes to write up the card and mail it off to... whatever her address is). Of all the Disney villains out there Maleficent's design is undoubtedly the most iconic and memorable: wicked yet elegant, gothic and graceful with a simple black/purple colour scheme and pale skin with a shade of green. Of all the classic-era villains she definitely stand out the most, both in terms of her immense power and intimidating veneer of calculating calm. She's more than strong enough to back up whatever threats she intends to make, and her sinister smile and cackling laugh can swiftly turn to furious rage if you don't say the right things around her. Her plan is simple yet diabolical (cursing a beautiful baby girl to die on the cusp of her reaching maturity), but once Prince Phillip starts gets involved she takes things to a whole new level of twisted irony, plotting to lock him away until he's but an old withered husk, then sending his broken spirit towards the beautiful woman he loves as a dying shell of his former self. You gotta admit, usually the old-school fairy tale villains didn't tend to show that level of creativity. Add in the fact that she turns into a badass dragon (a detail the live-action movie unfortunately flubbed up) and you've got a classic villainess who belongs on every list of the best baddies the Mouse House has to offer.</div>
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<b><u>#1: Judge Frollo (<i>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</i>)</u></b></h4>
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<i>"The time has come, gypsy. You stand upon the brink of the abyss. Yet even now it is not too late. I can save you from the flames of this world, and the next. Choose me, or the fire."</i><br />
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Say what you will about <i>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</i> as an overall movie (a risky, dark and complex story held back from classic status by its annoying Disney-mandated comic relief), but when it's good, it's freaking <b>fantastic</b>. And no part of the movie shines brighter than its villain, Judge Claude Frollo. He's got all the makings of a great Disney villain, from his twisted ruthlessness to voice actor Tony Jay's pitch-perfect performance, but <i>Hunchback</i> goes the extra mile and then some to create a deep, complex character whose layers make him all the more despicable. He is a deeply devout and religious man, but he's also a fanatic who uses said religious belief as an excuse for persecution and attempted genocide. He kills Quasimodo's mother, tries to drown him as a baby, and only saves him because the fear of doing ill will in the eyes of God <u>for once</u> makes him show mercy (and he soon decides to keep Quasi around mostly because he might grow up to "become of use" to him). He feels insane <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3NoDEu7kpg" target="_blank">musical-assisted Catholic guilt</a> over his lustful feelings for Esmerelda, and decides that the healthiest option is to burn her at the stake to destroy the temptation (because old-school Catholics are nutters that way). And that says nothing of how he treats our poor hero Quasimodo, acting as a mentally abusive parent who bullies him into fearing the outside world and keeping himself isolated and alone with no one to talk to (I can imagine Quasi and Queen Elsa could swap some stories if they ever crossed paths). The film posits the question in the opening scene of "who is the monster and who is the man", and it becomes evident quickly that Frollo more than lives up to being the former. No matter how much he tries to justify his action as God's will, it becomes obvious within minutes that he's really just committing his long, <b>loooong</b> list of awful misdeeds for his own twisted, selfish needs.<br />
And if that doesn't make someone a monster, then I don't know what does.</div>
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What are your favourite Disney villains? Feel free to discuss and thanks for reading!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-69828953031905800222014-09-11T21:59:00.004-07:002014-09-11T21:59:40.780-07:00<h2>
<u>Scruffy Nerfherder Presents: The 10 Best Movies of Summer 2014</u></h2>
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By Andrew Braid</h3>
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Well, this long summer has finally drawn to an end, and if you're a Hollywood executive, the news wouldn't seem to be particularly bright from a financial perspective. While there were few outright flops, many big summer movies fell under box office analyst expectations, and only one movie (the crowned summer b.o. king <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i>- who would have though a few months ago, right?) has grossed over $250 million domestic, compared to four last year and three in both 2012 and 2011. In particular July, usually the biggest and most integral month of the summer movie calendar, was utterly flaccid compared to previous years, with an utter lack of heavy hitters (the only real big movie that month being <i>Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</i>) resulting in a 30% decline from the previous year, the worst year-to-year decline recorded in decades. From this kind of perspective, it seems like this summer's movies were mostly pretty weak, lacklustre efforts, an unmemorable slate of films that's not worth talking about much, let alone sincerely looking back upon.</div>
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And that's where I'd have to call you out and say you're wrong.</div>
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Because if you're looking through a quality perspective we got some pretty awesome movies this summer. Sure, maybe the weren't all originals or groundbreaking masterpieces, but there were more than a few great times to go around in those comfy theatre seats and air-conditioned auditoriums. With most years I'll be lucky if the summer movie season can offer me enough genuinely great movies for a Top 5, but Summer 2014 was practically an embarrassment of riches by comparison, one that's going to make narrowing down my year-end Top 10 much more difficult than usual (hell, I might just end up saying "f*** it" and make it a Top 15 or 20- I guess we'll wait and see). So with the back-to-school season back in swing again, I thought it'd be a good time to look back and remember the good times we had at the movies this summer, the buttery cream of the popcorn crop that remind us why we all love Hollywood cinema in the first place (even with whatever bullshit they make us put up with next).</div>
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So here, in no particular order, are my picks for the <b><u>10 Best Movies of Summer 2014!</u></b></div>
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<i><b><u>Neighbors</u></b></i></h4>
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<b>Directed by Nicholas Stoller</b></div>
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<b>Written by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien</b><br />
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An early smash hit back in May, the latest comedy from the ever-talented Seth Rogen (joined by writer/producer/director partner Evan Goldberg) takes a simple premise (a new family ends up moving in next door to a raucous fraternity house) and knocks it out of the park, adding another example as to why Rogen is, like it or not, a generation-defining comedian. The consistent stream of laughs are expectedly raunchy through and through, but what makes the comedy stick (and gives the film a surprisingly good level of heart) is how gosh-darn likable all these characters are, and how much you find yourself wanting these two sides to work it out (the characters may step a bit over the line on one or two occasions, but not in a way that makes you turn against anyone). Seth Rogen is in fine form as usual, but Rose Byre goes above and beyond the typical wife/mother role and genuinely kills it every chance she gets (it helps that she and Rogen have excellent chemistry playing a married couple). It's Zac Efron who really surprises though as frat leader Teddy, a fun and good-natured college guy who realizes that his life is never going to get any better than his current fratboy days, and will do whatever he has to if it means making that big party last as long as it can. Throw in some memorably kinetic party sequences and you're left with a comedy guaranteed to give you a great time, even if it doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel.</div>
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<u><i>Godzilla</i></u></h4>
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<b>Directed by Gareth Edwards</b></div>
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<b>Screenplay by Max Borenstein; Story by David Callaham</b><br />
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While some were left feeling disappointed or cheated by the latest revival of Japan's world-famous King of the Monsters (likely due to the film's outstanding-yet-misleading marketing), <i>Godzilla</i> nonetheless brought back the old-school giant monster movie in an (appropriately) big way. Following inspiration as much from early Spielberg films like <i>Jaws</i> as it does the old-school Toho kaiji films, the film saves up on its huge-scale giant monster action, carefully and patiently building as we get to know the human cast who find themselves helpless in the face of these force-of-nature Goliaths. The film works to establish emotional connection to the action and destruction by framing it through a human perspective, lending the proceedings a massive sense of scale and a grounded level of plausibility- the viewer becomes part of the human crowds, awestruck and stunned in the face of such disaster around us. And when the film finally does reach its epic kaiju bout conclusion? <b>Hoo boy</b> does it deliver...<br />
King of the Monsters indeed.</div>
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(For a full review of <i>Godzilla</i>, <a href="http://scruffynerfherderreviews.blogspot.ca/2014/05/godzilla-review-epic-kaiju-destruction.html" target="_blank">click here.</a>)<br />
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<u><i>X-Men: Days of Future Past</i></u></h4>
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<b>Directed by Bryan Singer</b></div>
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<b>Screenplay by Simon Kinberg; Story by Jane Goldman, Simon Kinberg and Matthew Vaughn</b><br />
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Arguably the most anticipated movie going into this summer, the seventh film in the <i>X-Men</i> movie franchise (though really the fifth, seeing how everyone hated <i>The Last Stand</i> and <i>X-Men Origins: Wolverine</i>, to the point where this film undoes anything that happened in the former and refuses to even acknowledge the latter) also proved to be the best so far. Despite being inspired by the famous 80s comic book storyline of its subtitle, <i>Days of Future Past</i> namely feels like a <i>Terminator</i> movie starring Wolverine and Charles Xavier, using the high-stakes drama of its post-apocalypse future scenes as a launching pad for a surprisingly fun 70s-set caper involving prison breaks, espionage and political assassination. It's tightly paced and never loses the viewer in its frequent intercutting of past and future, the action is the most impressive of any any <i>X-Men</i> film to date, and several characters in its ridiculously stuffed cast get at least some good moments to shine. It also proves quite effective as both a continuity clean-up and a major culminating story for Wolverine and Xavier. A more matured and noble Logan must come full circle and give his old mentor's past self the guidance his lost soul desperately needs, both for his own betterment and the sake of mutant-kind. An emotional talk between Xaviers past and future proves a standout sequence not just for this film but the entire franchise, and the much-talked about "Time in a Bottle" scene proves better than anything that everyone's pre-judgmental hate for Evan Peters' Quicksilver was dead wrong (if anything you're left wishing there was a lot more of him). What could easily have been a blatant fanservice movie ends up proving a top-tier comic book movie in its own right, offering compelling evidence that maybe it's not so bad if Fox holds onto those <i>X-Men</i> rights for a little while longer...<br />
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<i><u>Edge of Tomorrow</u></i></h4>
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<b>Directed by Doug Liman</b></div>
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<b>Screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth and John Henry Butterworth</b><br />
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If there's any real contender for this summer's Most Pleasant Surprise, it's gotta be this one. The trailers looked solid yet unspectacular, struggling to stand out in a sea of one mega-blockbuster after another. But as it turns out <i>Edge of Tomorrow</i> is not quite what it seems, infusing its sci-fi/action movie premise ("<i>Groundhog Day, </i>but with mech suits") with a darkly comedic edge and a Tom Cruise performance that deliberately (and oh-so-entertainingly) plays against the actor's usual "Badass McGoodguy" persona. The film mines a lot of pleasure from showing Cruise's William Cage die in battle over and over (and over) again, but in a way that gradually builds a compelling character arc- like Bill Murray in <i>Groundhog Day</i>, Cage genuinely learns to be a better person through his repeating time loop (that <b>and</b> he learns how to kick some serious alien ass). Everything in <i>Edge of Tomorrow</i> is a pleasant surprise, from its great action scenes to period-piece regular Emily Blunt's "Full Metal Bitch" Rita Vrataski, who proves to be arguably the best female action hero in some time (definitely the best I've seen in anything out this year). While the ending may (possibly) have a hole or two in it, you're still left with a more than fulfilled feeling walking out of the theatre, with a little more hope in the Hollywood system. See, studios? Great things can come from taking a chance on an original blockbuster...<br />
...That's actually based on a Japanese light novel (damn, so close!)<br />
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<u><i>22 Jump Street</i></u></h4>
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<b>Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller</b></div>
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<b>Screenplay by Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman; Story by Jonah Hill and Michael Bacall</b><br />
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With <i>The Lego Movie</i> and now <i>22 Jump Street</i>, director duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller just had one hell of a year, and have officially proven they can do no wrong when it comes to making you laugh your ass off (no matter how unlikely or seemingly-bad the premise). The meta nature of the first film comes back in even greater force this time around, deliberately poking fun at the fact that this is an unnecessary sequel that's just a more expensive rehash of the first one ("Just do the same thing again, everyone's happy"). However, instead of forcing a reset on the character arcs of the original like so many other lazy sequels (comedy or otherwise), <i>22 Jump Street</i> actually grows and deepens the partnership between Jonah Hill's Schmidt and Channing Tatum's Jenko, as Jenko gets an opportunity to rediscover his high school football passions and the undercover duo questions whether that first big assignment was just a fluke (because meta!). This genuine sense of growth and emotional connection for these inherently ridiculous characters is a big part of why the film delivers as the rare (almost unheard of) example of a comedy sequel that's actually as good as the original (despite blatantly acknowledging all the scenes that it just copy/pastes from the aforementioned first one). But namely it's Hill and Tatum's spectacular screen chemistry that carries the film once again, making us both laugh and genuinely feel for this pair of wannabe-cop doofuses to such an extent that you find yourself thinking "maybe those end credits jokes are right- I really <b>could</b> watch these two get into wacky hijinks forever!" Then again, as tempting as <i>22 Jump Street</i> might make that seem, I hope they don't try to push their luck and actually make the walking punchline that is <i>23 Jump Street</i>.</div>
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...Oh yeah, <a href="http://www.avclub.com/article/joke-sequel-23-jump-street-become-actual-sequel-209048" target="_blank">too late for that...</a><br />
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<i><u>How to Train Your Dragon 2</u></i></h4>
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<b>Written and Directed by Dean DeBlois</b><br />
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Making a follow-up to a film as acclaimed and beloved as <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> would be a monstrous challenge for anyone, but writer/director Dean DeBlois (now flying solo after working on the first film with Chris Sanders) steers the ship on this breathtaking, exhilarating and beautifully emotional sequel with an assured, confident hand that makes it look almost easy. Despite being a sequel meant as the middle chapter in a trilogy (the main influence being <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>), <i>How to Train Your Dragon 2</i> functions surprisingly well as a self-contained narrative in its own right, following Viking dragon rider Hiccup five years after the first film as an adult torn between the responsibilities of being a chief and the freedom of exploring and living amongst the dragons he's learned to befriend. Hiccup and Toothless are just as compelling and loveable as ever, but it's his father Stoick and long-lost mother Valka who steal the show with a reunion and subsequent musical moment that may very well rank as the two most beautiful, moving and truly romantic scenes of any film this year (animated or not). The action is thrilling, the animation gorgeous, the score marvellous- much like the first film you spend the duration as awed by its technical achievements as you are its alternately hilarious, touching and poignant story. It's a sequel that's every bit as great as its revered predecessor (in some ways even better), and will leave you impatiently anticipating <i>How to Train Your Dragon 3</i> (now set for release in June 2017).<br />
(For a full review of<i> How to Train Your Dragon 2</i>, <a href="http://scruffynerfherderreviews.blogspot.ca/2014/06/how-to-train-your-dragon-2-review.html" target="_blank">click here.</a>)<br />
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<u><i>Snowpiercer</i></u></h4>
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<b>Directed by Bong Joon-ho</b></div>
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<b>Screenplay by Bong Joon-ho and Kelly Masterson; Story by Bong Joon-ho</b><br />
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Nearly swept under the rug and tarnished in the editing room by its U.S. distributor The Weinstein Company (because Harvey Weinstein's just kind of evil that way- and he has an extensive track record to prove it), the latest film from Bong Joon-ho (<i>Mother</i>, <i>The Host</i>- <b>NOT</b> the one based on the Stephanie Meyer book) is a prime example of why studios don't know what they're talking about when they think they should meddle with greatness. <i>Snowpiercer</i> is so many things all at once, be it a chillingly bleak science fiction story, a darkly funny social class satire or an intense, suspenseful action-thriller, and yet it all gels together so seamlessly where so many other movies would fall apart. Like its massive train that barrels around a frozen world, the film is always charging full steam ahead with one plot surprise and inventive idea after another, grabbing you by the balls with its gripping sense of unpredictability. And yet it still demands to be seen more than merely once- then you'll get to see laid bare all the careful setup of its many moving parts and clever machinations, and gain a deeper understanding of the complex character relationships that populate its narrative. If you love not just sci-fi but any kind of film that dares to be this original and refreshing, then do yourself a favour and check it out through whatever digital rental or video-on-demand service you have available to you.<br />
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<u><i>Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</i></u></h4>
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<b>Directed by Matt Reeves</b></div>
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<b>Written by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver</b><br />
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So yeah, between this, <i>Edge of Tomorrow</i> and <i>Snowpiercer</i>,<i> </i>2014 has proven a great year for blockbuster science fiction. With <i>Dawn</i> the long-running <i>Planet of the Apes</i> franchise proves in spectacular fashion that it's anything but dated in the modern moviemaking landscape, following up the surprise hit <i>Rise of the Planet of the Apes</i> with a bigger, bolder and achingly sombre sequel that builds off <i>Rise</i>'s foundation and ends up outclassing it in every possible way. <i>Dawn</i> feels much closer to the old-school <i>PotA</i> films in feel with its more overt science fiction themes and its dark, pessimistic outlook, but given new emotional dimensions with its motion-capture cast of apes, a visual effects marvel if there ever was one. Andy Serkis once again commands the screen as ape leader Caesar, but this time he's got competition in the form of Toby Kebbel as the bitter, scarred former lab ape Koba. In a year of blockbusters lacking in memorable or noteworthy villains Koba stands mightily at the head of the pack, a genuinely sympathetic and astute character whose burning hatred for the humans who abused him drives him down a path of increasingly monstrous actions that only dooms what chance there was for the two sides to achieve peace. If <i>Rise</i> was the <i>Batman Begins</i>-esque reboot, then <i>Dawn of the Planet of the Apes </i>is <i>The Dark Knight</i> of this new <i>Apes</i> series, a huge leap forward that's just as thoughtful, grim and morally complex as it is grippingly entertaining.</div>
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(For a full review of <i>Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</i>, <a href="http://scruffynerfherderreviews.blogspot.ca/2014/07/dawn-of-planet-of-apes-review-no-matter.html" target="_blank">click here.</a>)<br />
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<u><i>Boyhood</i></u></h4>
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<b>Written and Directed by Richard Linklater</b><br />
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Okay, let's get a few things straight about <i>Boyhood</i>. It is <b><u>not</u></b> some oh-so-perfect, flawless, "movie of the year/decade/century" (yes, the ads have actually used such a quote) masterpiece. At a huge 165 minutes the film is too long and unwieldy for its own good, with the final half-hour in particular mostly just dragging on and feeling its length. While the lead actor playing the titular boy at the film's core (Ellar Coltrane) gives a solid performance, Mason Jr. often feels like a cipher rather than a real fleshed-out character, and what we do get of a personality once he gets older mostly proves to be somewhat of a pretentious hipster asshole (but hey, to each his own if you like that kind of character, I suppose). The film struggles to find balance between slice-of-life realism and a more film-like narrative, with results that constantly shift back and forth from artful and compelling to forced and cliched. And then after over two and a half hours it all just stops with a smug, self-satisfied ending that chooses to needlessly spells out the film's message/conceit, as if it didn't trust its audience to realize for themselves "what it all means".<br />
So yeah, it's far from perfect.<br />
Having said all that, <i>Boyhood</i> is still plenty good enough to warrant seeing for yourself. The whole idea behind it (filming a whole film about a child growing up into adulthood with all the same actors over the course of 12 years) is a fascinating and truly daring experiment that at the very least demands the attention and respect of any devoted filmgoer. While the acting quality varies all over, Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as Mason Jr.'s parents both give excellent, possibly career-best performances that makes these people feel like real, flawed yet likable human beings (honestly, I kind of wish the movie were centred more around them). And when this messy, uneven behemoth actually works, it can be downright captivating to watch Richard Linklater make his on-the-fly filmmaking experiment unfold. For better or worse, it feels completely unlike anything you'll see all year, a sprawling yet intimate epic about growing up and living in the moment.<br />
Oh wait, I mean, what if it's really the <u>other way around</u>? Like, the moments are just <i>constant</i>, man? Whoa, did I just <b>blow your mind</b>, dude? (seriously, screw that ending)</div>
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<i><u>Guardians of the Galaxy</u></i></h4>
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<b>Directed by James Gunn</b></div>
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<b>Screenplay by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman</b><br />
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If choosing the best movie of the summer (hell, maybe even the whole year) came down to which one was the most flat-out, unabashedly <b>fun</b>, then <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i> would win hands-down. It's a film that both comfortably fits inside the successful Marvel Studios wheelhouse while also injecting its own subversively cheeky personality, all matched by director James Gunn's mix of reference-laden visual flair and groovy-as-groovy-gets soundtrack of 70s and 80s pop/rock hits. The cast absolutely kills it, with all five Guardians getting ample time to shine and show a delightful repartee with each other, whether it's the inseparable Rocket and Groot or Star Lord and Gamora's slowly sizzling romantic tension (and don't forget about Dave Bautista's Drax, easily the film's biggest surprise as he brings both straight-faced humour and angry pathos to what could easily have been yet another dumb brute character). In fact, seeing how the film has become such a box-office titan and beloved pop culture piece (it's currently <b>still </b>the #1 movie in theatres as I write this), recommending it seems almost redundant at this point.<br />
So yeah, if you somehow haven't seen it already, just get it done and keep in the loop about what all that <a href="http://www.avclub.com/article/grooting-may-or-may-not-be-thing-now-208788" target="_blank">#Grooting</a> business is about.<br />
(For a full review of <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i>, <a href="http://scruffynerfherderreviews.blogspot.ca/2014/08/guardians-of-galaxy-review-aint-no.html" target="_blank">click here.</a>)<br />
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What were your favourite movies this summer? Thanks for reading, and have a great fall!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-27075855421424649642014-08-27T00:06:00.000-07:002014-08-27T00:06:33.074-07:00<h2>
<b><u>Scruffy Nerfherder Presents: The Top 10 Best Batmans</u></b></h2>
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<b>By Andrew Braid</b></h3>
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This year marks the 75th anniversary of the creation of arguably the most iconic and overwhelmingly popular superhero in comic book history: the caped crusader, the world's greatest detective, the dark knight, Batman. While his three-quarters of a century as a character in comics is massive and wildly varied, the character also has a long, diverse and very rich history in film and television, perhaps more so than any other single comic book hero. This includes 8 live-action feature films (soon to be 9 with the looming release of <i>Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice</i> in 2016), two different sets of 1940s adventure serials, a classic live-action television series, numerous animated shows, literally dozens of animated movies, and more guest appearances or cameos than you could shake a Bat-stick at. Naturally this would cause many a Bat-fan to ask a serious (and not very easy) Bat-question: which is the <u>best</u> version of their iconic childhood hero? There's so many versions to choose and compare that even narrowing it down to a Top 10 list is far from a Bat-picnic. But in honour of the character's 75th anniversary I plan to take on this challenge and do just that, presenting today my picks for the <b><u>Top 10 Best Batmans!</u></b><br />
First, the ground rules:</div>
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-This list is strictly regarding film and television incarnations of the character.</div>
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-Both live-action <b>and</b> animated versions are being included.</div>
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-This is all subjective and based on personal preference, so keep that in mind (I probably didn't need that last reminder, but you never know).</div>
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Alright, let's light that signal in the sky and kick off our countdown, starting with...</div>
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<b><u>#10: Rino Romano</u></b></h4>
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<b><u>Appearances:</u> <i>The Batman</i> (2004-2008), <i>The Batman vs. Dracula</i> (2005)</b><br />
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Look, it was either this or Val Kilmer, so deal with it. </div>
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In all seriousness though, <i>The Batman</i> has always been seen as some awkward "middle child" among the various animated television incarnations of the caped crusader. Whereas the much-loved and lauded shows that preceded (<i>Batman: TAS</i>) and followed it (<i>Brave and the Bold</i>) both chose one extreme and stuck with it, <i>The Batman</i> felt like it was trying to find a middle ground: kind of but not really that dark (most of the time, anyway- the episodes involving the first Clayface and Robin's origin being notable exceptions), and occasionally silly without ever going into full-on silver-age camp. Mostly it was an excuse for cool-looking and fast-paced hand-to-hand action scenes with all manner of martial arts moves coming from every single character (yes, even the fucking Penguin). At the centre of it all was a younger, late 20s Batman who's still early in his career and has plenty left to learn. Experienced voice actor Rino Romano (the original english voice of Tuxedo Mask, for all you fangirls out there) takes on the role here and does a measured and all-around solid job, if not a spectacular one (though there's this one episode where he gets infected with Joker venom that lets him stretch his acting range more than usual). The distinction between his Bruce Wayne and Batman vocals is more subtle than in many other versions, but he still gives us a Batman with an edge of cool who proves plenty formidable in a fight. </div>
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<b><u>#9: Peter Weller</u></b></h4>
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<b><u>Appearances:</u> <i>Batman: The Dark Knight Returns</i> (2012/2013)</b></div>
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A feature-length adaptation of Frank Miller's iconic Batman story <i>The Dark Knight Returns</i> (live-action or animated) had been long-anticipated by many fans of the character, so casting the right actor to play an aged, out-of-retirement version of everyone's favourite crime fighter was crucial to say the least. Enter Robocop himself Peter Weller, lending the role less the feel of gruff, grizzled growling that you might expect and more the tone of a wise yet tortured veteran, one who finds out that his old habits really do die hard. His voice lends Miller's Dark Knight a sense of weariness and (perhaps particularly appropriate for this incarnation of the character) an almost-calming sense of authoritarianism. When one of the book's most famous moments comes up (the fight with the mutant leader- "This is an operating table... and I'm the surgeon"), Weller's delivery has no growls or bellows. Instead he sounds like a disappointed teacher (I do mean that in a good way): this is what Gotham has come to, this is what he has to deal with and clean up, these are the misguided faces of a new generation that he'll have to take it up on himself to whip into proper shape. It's a distinctly unique interpretation of the character, one that particularly stands out considering the iconic source material.</div>
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<b><u>#8: Bruce Greenwood</u></b></h4>
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<b><u>Appearances:</u> <i>Batman: Under the Red Hood</i> (2010), <i>Young Justice</i> (2010-2013)</b></div>
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Bruce Greenwood, probably best known for playing several U.S. movie presidents and as Captain Pike in the J.J. Abrams <i>Star Trek</i> movies, might not initially have seemed like an obvious choice to play Batman, even for an animated incarnation. But his performance for the acclaimed DTV movie <i>Batman: Under the Red Hood</i> turned out so good that he was asked to reprise the role for the underrated (and unfairly cancelled) <i>Young Justice</i>. Despite a whole different kind of story, his work on <i>Young Justice </i>actually feels fairly consistent with the approach he takes in <i>Red Hood</i>, namely how Greenwood plays Batman primarily as a stern yet loving mentor and father figure. He can play the part just as gruff and imposing as anyone else, but its that underlying paternal layer he embodies that helps make <i>Under the Red Hood</i> so heartbreaking, whether he's reminiscing the good memories he had with Jason Todd as a young Robin or desperately trying (perhaps in vain) to convince the resurrected adult Jason/Red Hood that murder and revenge aren't the answers to fixing Gotham's problems (their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kscfb9XzPs" target="_blank">climactic moral debate</a> is truly compelling, and far more engaging than any standard round of fisticuffs). He knows better than anyone how easy it is to cross that line, and failing to teach a son that can only take a heavy toll on his conscience. </div>
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<b><u>#7: Adam West</u></b></h4>
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<b><u>Appearances:</u> <i>Batman</i> (1966-1968), <i>Batman: The Movie</i> (1966), <i>The New Adventures of Batman</i> (1977), <i>SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show</i> (1984)</b><br />
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Once loved by millions of audiences in a fever of "Bat-Mania", then derided by many fans who desperately wanted their comic book idol to be taken seriously, the 1960s Batman television series fortunately seems to have been regaining cultural and fan appreciation over the last few years or so (and should only continue to grow with the release of this year's <a href="http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Batman-The-Complete-Series-Blu-ray/103989/" target="_blank">Complete Series box set</a>). While credit must absolutely be given to the show's writers for their often-clever camp cheekiness, Adam West's almost magically straight-faced line delivery made sure that just about every thinly-veiled absurdity hit its mark. Despite the show's tongue-in-cheek parody approach, he truly felt like the Batman of the Silver Age comics come to life, to the point where the comics in turn tried harder to be more like the TV series. His approach perfectly reflected the era- his identity as Bruce Wayne is barely concealed yet never discovered, his Bat-gadget supply literally has no limits, his villains' plots are often as insane as they are inane, and the mind-boggling leaps of logic in his deductions are somehow always right. West played it all with only the slightest of hints that he was in on the joke, whether he danced the Batusi or laid the onomatopoeia-assisted smackdown on evildoers. While later reprisals of his role as the Caped Crusader proved decidedly lacking, we'll always have the original series to cherish for whenever we want to hear Adam West say something utterly ridiculous with only the utmost of conviction (his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_jP2vrRFy8" target="_blank">many appearances</a> on <i>Family Guy</i> notwithstanding).</div>
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<b><u>#6: Will Friedle</u></b></h4>
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<b><u>Appearances:</u> <i>Batman Beyond</i> (1999-2001), <i>Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker</i> (2000)</b></div>
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This one is <b>maybe</b> kind of debatable, seeing how this isn't the standard Bruce Wayne Batman. But if you ask me it honestly doesn't matter, as Terry McGinnis (and Will Friedle as his voice) handily proved his mettle over the course of <i>Batman Beyond</i>'s run. He's a new kind of Batman, a cocky, rebellious and surprisingly capable teenager who feels very much like he's taken a page or two from Spider-Man's book. But Terry proves to be more than just some souped-up Robin in a Batman costume: while he lacks the same kind of training, experience and detective intellect as Bruce Wayne (now an old man serving the Alfred role as Terry's mentor), he proves to be resourceful, creative and determined enough to live up to the mantle and carve out his own legacy as the Dark Knight of a new era. Thanks as much to Friedle's likable, funny and good-natured performance as it is the show's quality writing, Terry McGinnis makes for a more immediately sympathetic and relatable version of Batman, raised with a mostly ordinary (if occasionally troublesome) middle-class childhood before tragedy strikes and inspires him to don the upgraded new suit. Considering how often he has to hold his own against the practically legendary Kevin Conroy as elderly Bruce Wayne, Friedle makes it look almost easy and develops a fantastic rapport with his mentor in the process. He may not be the original we're all so familiar with, but this Batman 2.0 undoubtedly proves his worthiness. </div>
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<b><u>#5: Will Arnett</u></b></h4>
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<b><u>Appearances:</u> <i>The Lego Movie</i> (2014)</b><br />
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It's no secret that Batman is a huge scene-stealer in <i>The Lego Movie</i>, and watching it again it's not hard to see why. Will Arnett delivers a killer parody of the Dark Knight, in particular all the more self-serious and gritty takes on the character that have mostly dominated the pop culture landscape over recent years. Lego Batman is a super-cool badass and he knows it, and can't seem to help using it as an excuse to get away with being a total egocentric jerkwad. In doing so Arnett's take on the character, matched by a Bat-voice that would probably still sound great even in a genuinely serious Batman movie, reveals the paradoxical nature of our culture's overwhelmingly huge, obsessive love for the character. We <b>know</b> he's a jerk, a billionaire vigilante who clings to childish ideals (and maybe even childish attitudes) as an excuse to beat up criminals and puts his vast wealth towards making anything he can slap a Bat-symbol onto. But at the same time we can't help but love him anyway, since he basically embodies what many of us wish we could be ourselves- rich, badass and awesome at just about everything.<br />
Well, except managing a good healthy relationship.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I don't actually have a reason for putting this here, other than the fact that I can't stop laughing.</span></td></tr>
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<b><u>#4: Diedrich Bader </u></b></h4>
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<b>Appearances: <i>Batman: The Brave and the Bold</i> (2008-2011)</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This show has a Bat-musical episode. Guest-starring Neil Patrick Harris. As if you need more reasons to watch this show...</span></td></tr>
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To be honest #4 and #3 are practically a tie, and I'm still mulling over which one is actually better, but the fact that they both rank so high should say plenty about the very different qualities each brings to their Bat-portrayal. First up is voice actor Diedrich Bader, who plays the caped crusader in the fantastic (possibly underrated? Wait, can we actually still call it that anymore?) animated series <i>Batman: The Brave and the Bold</i>. The series namely played as a direct adaptation of the Silver Age era of Batman's comics history, though a lot of the time it plays like a giant love letter to the character's rich 75-year history as a whole, with every episode featuring different team-ups of heroes and villains, be they recognizable, goofy, campy, obscure or even downright weird. The series was usually comedic in tone, often pointing out its inherent absurdity while also sincerely embracing it, and Bader pitch-perfectly plays Batman as the justice-obsessed, crime-fighting straight man. He understands that no matter how silly a story or scenario gets, Batman always takes himself seriously. Hell, he's so devoted to the cape and cowl that we very rarely ever see him as Bruce Wayne throughout the show (you could count the number of episodes we see Batman sans mask with one hand). That makes it all the more impressive when the show throws us a curveball with "Chill of the Night", a genuinely dark and tragic episode where Batman tracks down Joe Chill, the man who shot his parents dead all those years ago. The show makes it clear that despite all the humour and Silver Age antics this is still the Batman we all know, and Bader nails it when he gets to go for genuine emotional turmoil. No matter what the script calls for, Bader gamely plays it completely straight and gives it his all, whether he's fighting, brooding, flirting, singing, body-swapped with Batwoman, or eating nachos. Wait...<br />
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Look, I just couldn't help it. Can you really blame me?</div>
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<b><u>#3: Michael Keaton</u></b></h4>
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<b><u>Appearances:</u> <i>Batman</i> (1989), <i>Batman Returns</i> (1992)</b></div>
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Still the definitive live-action Batman for many growing up in the late 1980s and 90s, Michael Keaton surprised many when he donned the rubber Batsuit (complete with its infamous inability to turn one's head while wearing it- seriously, watch the movie again and you'll totally notice). Thought of namely as a goofy comedic actor in roles like <i>Mr. Mom</i> and Tim Burton's previous film<i> Beetlejuice</i>, many were sent into an uproar over the initial casting announcement. But famously all those quick-to-jump detractors soon ate their words when they were treated to the first truly serious and gothic screen iteration of Gotham's dark knight. As Bruce Wayne he was an awkward, brooding loner, with a puzzled, uncertain face that can say so much despite his lack of words. But when he dons the suit he brings a truly intimidating presence, one who strikes fear into the hearts of criminals without even having to raise his voice (I still can't remember a single moment where he ever shouts, screams, yells, or utters anything a decibel louder than average speaking volume). The intense focus on the character's duality makes scenes like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeOHFwpOS-c" target="_blank">this one</a> all the more surprising, lending a sense of genuine unpredictability to what this Bruce Wayne guy is really capable of. It's for good reason why many 80s kids like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeOHFwpOS-c" target="_blank">Seth Rogen</a> will still attest that Keaton is the best Batman.</div>
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<b><u>#2: Christian Bale</u></b></h4>
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<b><u>Appearances: </u><i>Batman Begins</i> (2005), <i>The Dark Knight</i> (2008), <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i> (2012)</b></div>
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Alright, I'll address the elephant in the room upfront here: yes, Bat-Bale's famous/infamous raspy growl of a voice is oh so very easy to make fun of to this day, and probably for all time (and having Bane impressions to bounce off of has only made it worse). But when it comes time to watch the movies on their own, in the context of their gritty, sprawling crime saga and epic action, the Bat-voice weirdly fits right in. Despite having a less gothic and more grounded approach to the character and to Gotham City itself, Bale's Batman still handily proves both imposing and fearsome as a shadow of the night (it helps that, much more so than any other live-action portrayal so far, this is a Batman who looks like he could seriously kick your ass in a fight). More importantly however is Bale's full-throttle commitment to the role, truly throwing himself into the character and just how effectively he builds himself as Bruce Wayne first before Batman. We truly feel his pain, his loss and confusion as to who he wishes to be, and we're allowed ample time to see him ponder and wrestle with himself (particularly when he seeks Alfred's devoted yet reluctant guidance). Both his socialite billionaire Bruce Wayne and his raspy-voiced warrior Batman come off overtly like a man doing a performance. Because we've seen the real man behind the masks, we can see right through his overplayed rich jerk and his infamous Bat-growl. He's both Bruce and Batman, but at the same time he's also neither- underneath all that is a man lost in longstanding trauma and guilt, a man who wishes to follow in his parents' footsteps and save the city they helped build.<br />
Whereas previous live-action Batman movies often allowed the villains to steal the show and overshadow Batman himself, Christian Bale's performance makes that all but impossible in the game-changing Nolan trilogy. Heath Ledger's Joker in <i>The Dark Knight</i> was already an iconic force of nature, but when he finally gets to be face-to-face with Bale's Batman? Bat-Bale goes toe-to-toe with Ledger, and as Joker himself says in the same scene, he didn't disappoint- it reminds one of the famous diner scene in <i>Heat</i>, two legends finally staring each other down as they embody the duelling sides of law and chaos. Bale's Dark Knight becomes more than just a man over the course of Nolan's epic trilogy- he becomes a legend. And it takes a legend to anchor a series like this one.</div>
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<b><u>#1: Kevin Conroy</u></b></h4>
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<b><u>Appearances:</u> <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i> (1992-1995, 1997-1999), <i>Batman: Mask of the Phantasm</i> (1993), <i>Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero</i> (1998) <i>Batman Beyond</i> (1999-2001), <i>Justice League</i> (2001-2004, 2004-2006), <i>Batman: Gotham Knight</i> (2008), <i>Superman/Batman: Public Enemies</i> (2009), <i>Superman/Batman: Apocalypse</i> (2010), <i>Justice League: Doom</i> (2012), <i>Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox</i> (2013), <i>Batman: Assault on Arkham</i> (2014)</b></div>
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Honestly, could it be anyone else? From the beginning of the revered 90s animated series to present day in DC Animated features and the Arkham video game series, Kevin Conroy has been, continues to be, and pretty much simply <b>IS</b> Batman. His Batman voice is perfect to the point of being definitive- dark, brooding and commanding without ever feeling forced or overplayed. Not only that, but he's done by far a better job than anyone else of distinguishing Bruce Wayne as a separate performance, a public playboy facade cleverly concealing the damaged and driven soul underneath (the ways he so seamlessly shifts between the two voices in many scenes is often downright remarkable). He adapts to whatever kind of scene he needs to with utmost ease, whether it's a deadpan joke or a somber musing, a howling scream of fury or an earnest insistence of hope. He even grows over time along with the rest of the DC Animated Universe, whether its as the Justice League's would-be loner or as a grizzled old mentor in <i>Batman Beyond</i>. No matter what the situation, no matter which movie or TV episode, you always hear the same thing from Kevin Conroy:<br />
You hear vengeance.<br />
You hear the night.<br />
You hear BATMAN.<br />
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Plus, as it turns out, you also hear a great set of pipes. Close us out, Batman!<br />
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Thanks for reading, everyone! And Happy Bat-iversary!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-18090457724057562442014-08-08T17:38:00.003-07:002014-08-08T17:38:30.942-07:00<h2>
<u><i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles </i>(2014) Review: Heroes in a Half-Assed Shell</u></h2>
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By Andrew Braid</h3>
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<b>Directed by Jonathan Liebesman</b></div>
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<b>Starring: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fitchner, Johnny Knoxville, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Tony Shaloub, Whoopi Goldberg, Tohoru Masamune</b></div>
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<b>Release Date: August 8, 2014</b></div>
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<b>Presented in 2D and 3D</b></div>
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All it took was four words for the whole internet to turn against a new rebooted live-action take on the late 80s/90s mega-franchise that was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: "Produced by Michael Bay".<br />
And honestly, why wouldn't they? Michael Bay has made much of his fortunes off of dumbed-down, much-hated new versions of various 80s properties, whether its directing the bloated explosion-fest <i>Transformers</i> series or producing stale, unnecessary reboots of revered horror icons like <i>Friday the 13th</i>, <i>The Texas Chainsaw Massacre</i> and <i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i>. The Bay-owned production company behind those stale retreads, Platinum Dunes, is at it again with <i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i>, and <b>oooh boy </b>did it not take them long to piss off nearly every Turtles fan on the planet. Leaked early versions of the script a few years back made huge deviations from the canon (in particular the idea of making the Turtles aliens instead of mutants) that practically embodied everyone's worst fears of what Hollywood's soulless monster Michael Bay was doing with their beloved childhood nostalgia, prompting a huge rewriting overhaul. Implications that the Turtles' traditionally-Japanese archenemy the Shredder would now be sneaky-faced white guy William Fitchner (he's a really good character actor, but still) drew even more ire from fans all too eager to bash this affront on their childhoods, and the reveal of the Turtles' designs in the first teaser trailer gave them whatever added ammunition they needed for mocking parodies like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT32-xBpBbk" target="_blank">this one</a> (along with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOecDMkthUM" target="_blank">many, many others</a>).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cf.badassdigest.com/_uploads/images/38581/kadmzsv__span.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cf.badassdigest.com/_uploads/images/38581/kadmzsv__span.jpg" height="333" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">To be fair, that one on the top really does look better than the face they went with...</span></td></tr>
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The movie's certainly had one constant, seemingly never-ending uphill battle to try and win over audiences, and even the fact that Michael Bay isn't actually directing it hasn't assuaged anyone's pre-emptive ire or fears (the track record of the film's real director, Jonathan Liebesman, includes such defining classics as <i>The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning</i>, <i>Battle: Los Angeles</i> and <i>Wrath of the Titans</i>). Now that the film's finally been released to the public, I can honestly say this to all those many skeptical TMNT fans out there:<br />
This is far from the worst that's ever happened to the Ninja Turtles franchise (that honour will always belong to the <i>Coming Out of Their Shells</i> music show, followed closely by <i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III</i>), nor is it really the outright disaster that one would expect from a reboot with Michael Bay's name stamped on it.<br />
Having said that, it's still an undeniably bad movie, but for (mostly) less exciting reasons than you'd think.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://turntherightcorner.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-2014-teaser-trailer-still-raphael.jpg?w=1024" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://turntherightcorner.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-2014-teaser-trailer-still-raphael.jpg?w=1024" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Ow... still less painful than hearing Splinter <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAn49d6-Jqo" target="_blank">sing about skipping stones</a>, though..."</span></td></tr>
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Our story begins with the criminal organization known as the Foot Clan, led by the Shredder (Tohoru Masamune), striking terror into the hearts of New Yorkers. Wanting to take down the Foot while also finding a big break to be taken seriously as a journalist, news reporter April O'Neil (Megan Fox) follows fleeting evidence of an unseen vigilante taking the fight to the Foot. What she discovers is not one but four vigilante heroes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: leader Leonardo (voiced by Johnny Knoxville), angry wannabe loner Raphael (Alan Ritchson), nerdy tech whiz Donatello (Jeremy Howard) and the goofy, not to mention <b>very</b> horny Michelangelo (Noel Fisher). It turns out however that these Turtles are very familiar to April: they and their father/sensei Splinter (voiced by Tony Shaloub) were her childhood pets back when her father and industrial mogul Eric Sacks (William Fitchner) were using them as part of mysterious experiments that ultimately resulted in the Turtles' mutation and the deaths of several Sacks employees, including April's scientist father. Though April looks up to Sacks, it turns out (big shock) that he's actually been allied with the Shredder this whole time, and now wants to capture the Turtles and use their magic blood (yes, <b>that</b> dumb plot trope again, as if we didn't see enough of it in movies like <i>Star Trek Into Darkness</i> and <i>The Amazing Spider-Man</i>) to launch a deadly mutation gas from a huge tower across New York City (once again ripped off from movies like <i>The Amazing Spider-Man</i>). With the reluctant help of news cameraman Vernon Fenwick (Will Arnett), can April help the Turtles save the day from Sacks and the Foot Clan before they can unleash their cliched diabolical plot? More importantly, will you find even one plot beat that isn't lazily ripped off from every other action blockbuster out there?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-april.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-april.jpg" height="242" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And even more importantly, will the movie feel obligated to sexualize Megan Fox, even though it's supposed to be made for kids? (Then again, you already know the answer to that one)</span></td></tr>
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The centre of the film is its new twists on the Ninja Turtles' origin story, and I can officially say that it carries on Platinum Dunes' proud tradition of overexplaining and needlessly complicating a simple yet effective backstory. For decades now Splinter and the Turtles have had two variations of their origin story (one where Splinter was once a human martial arts master wrongly disgraced by Oroku Saki and left homeless in the sewers, the other having Splinter as a pet rat owned by a kind martial arts master that's murdered by Shredder), but one key detail remains constant: the toxic canister spill that mutates the turtles happens purely by accident. They don't have some great destiny they were born to fulfill- they're just fun-loving teenagers who love pizza, kick bad guy butt and try to fight the good fight because crime is a major bummer, dude. But the changes made here are not only pointless and unnecessary, but they feel incredibly forced and shoehorned, built around piles of coincidental connections between all the major characters. It <b>just so happens</b> that not only are April's father and main villain Eric Sacks responsible for the experiments that created Splinter and the turtles in a lab, but April even gave them their names when she was a kid! Then 15 years later, April <b>just so happens</b> to be the first human to discover the Ninja Turtles' existence, and in the very next scene she pulls out a box of her father's research explaining everything that she <b>just had lying around in her closet all this time</b>, and completely forgot about all this stuff until<b> just now! </b>(you think you'd more clearly remember this stuff when it involves, oh, I don't know, <u>the death of your father</u>) Then it turns out Eric Sacks <b>just so happens</b> to have been adopted and raised in Japan by the Shredder, and it <b>just so happens</b> that the Turtles are crucial to their whole deadly mutation virus plot. But wait, how did the Turtles even learn kung fu in the first place? Oh, that's easy- when they were kids in an abandoned sewer, Splinter <b>just so happens</b> to find a random "Art of Ninjitsu"book lying under some rubble, and uses that to teach himself and the turtles martial arts. That's not just lazy- it's <u>insultingly</u> lazy, and it's a clear case of trying to "fix" what was never broken in the first place in order to fit into some structure of bulls*** Hollywood screenwriting cliches.<br />
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But really all the dumb, needless changes you could make to the origin story wouldn't be enough to sink this movie on their own. Nah, the overwhelmingly predictable, by-the-numbers story and plotting do more than enough damage to sabotage <i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> mere minutes into its (mercifully reasonable) running time. Every beat feels stale and familiar, making the viewing experience less like watching an engaging narrative unfold and more akin to sarcastically asking yourself "Gee, I wonder what's going to happen now?" over and over again. Literally nothing takes you by surprise or does anything that you weren't already expecting, and that includes the film's humour. While the Turtles get a few amusing moments (in particular the elevator rap scene embedded below), much of their jokey banter and wackier antics is outright groan-inducing. But when the comedy scenes involve human characters? It practically redefines the term "dead on arrival", namely because none of these characters have any personality beyond the most stock, boring and one-dimensional ones the filmmakers could find at the second-hand screenwriting thrift store. The dialogue is so generic and half-hearted that the "jokes" practically blend in with everything else in a sea of blandness.<br />
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In fact, the movie is so focused on just putting checkmarks on its "To Do" List that it doesn't even bother to develop any of its characters whatsoever. Literally no one in this entire movie goes through any kind of character arc- no one grows, no one changes, no one provides any kind of emotional backbone for the rote story to fall back on. When Splinter is critically injured and left for dead (and can only be saved by, you guessed it, a "magic blood" antidote), we have almost no reason to care what happens to him because we hardly even learned much about him, and neither April or the Turtles seem to learn anything from the experience of trying to save him. The closest thing to an exception is Raphael, but not only is his arc the exact same thing we've seen the character go through in just about every other iteration of the series ("I think and act like I want to be a loner, but in reality I love my family more than anything!"), but the execution is so sloppy and rushed that it practically feels like his big epiphany moment at the end comes completely out of nowhere. It feels like all the in-between scenes that would have developed this arc are missing from the movie, most likely because the trio of screenwriters couldn't have been bothered to write said scenes in the first place.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Even the marketing tweets seem to have more effort put into them than this movie's script (and that's not saying much).</span></td></tr>
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The visual effects are a mixed bag all around, with Shredder's bulky enhancements faring best. The motion-capture CG effects used to bring the Turtles to life are fairly expressive, decently detailed and have a few nice design touches (things like Donatello's tech goggles and Leonardo's more overtly samurai-esque clothing are neat), but they never really manage to feel like a physically believable presence, instead constantly reminding you that you're looking at a decently-constructed computer creation (plus their more human-like nostrils and lips are just as off-putting now as they were back when the trailers were first released). Splinter however fares worst, with an ugly CG model that looks like all the hair and body details are smoothed out, and large quasi human-esque eyes that look borderline soulless and devoid of any range of expression. Everything does moves fairly well in the film's competent yet occasionally choppy and mostly uninspired action sequences (a late-movie setpiece where April and the Turtles escape down a snowy mountain is the closest thing to a genuine highlight in the whole movie), and the 3D is implemented well in often-gimmicky ways, but none of its enough to save the visual and technical aspects of the film from being any less generic and indifferently-crafted than its script.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pictured: Indifference</span></td></tr>
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<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> won't quite leave you "shellshocked" (as the terrible <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7xfm_7BrZc" target="_blank">end-credits rap song</a> would suggest), but by no means is it anything other than a major letdown, both for longtime Turtles fans and younger newcomers to the franchise. The film only injects some new energy into the characters in the most rote and superficial ways, and there's not a single element that doesn't feel like it was hashed together from the spare parts of numerous other Hollywood blockbusters, many of which (like <i>The Amazing Spider-Man</i>) weren't even that good to begin with. It's like creating a Frankenstein's monster and trying to convince us it's "hip" and "fresh", but without putting any effort into hiding the hastily-sewn stitches that hold all the rotting parts together. Once you've watch that elevator rap clip posted earlier in this review, then there's no reason you need to see the rest of the movie- that's basically the full extent of what little it has to offer.</div>
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If you haven't seen <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i> yet (and you should, <a href="http://scruffynerfherderreviews.blogspot.ca/2014/08/guardians-of-galaxy-review-aint-no.html" target="_blank">because it's awesome</a>), do yourself a favour and go see that instead. If you've already seen <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i>, do yourself a favour and go see that again instead. If you have kids you want to take to the movies for a fun time, do yourself and them a favour and go see<i> Guardians of the Galaxy</i> (or really just about anything that doesn't have the words "Turtles" or "Planes" in the title) instead. If you really, <b>really</b> want to satiate some huge itch for a new take on Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey, then just stay home and watch some episodes of the current Nickelodeon TV series instead (trust me, it's genuinely pretty great). Because it's not just the Ninja Turtles who deserve better than a soulless, lazy, shamelessly cookie-cutter summer blockbuster like this one.</div>
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<b>Final Review Score: 3 / 10</b></h3>
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<b><u>Pros:</u></b></div>
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<b>+ The Turtles themselves feel right for the most part, portrayed as more or less the same characters we all know and love</b></div>
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<b>+ Shredder is actually pretty cool in this movie- imposing, formidable, and his bulky (almost mech-like) new design is great</b></div>
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<b>+ A few fun moments here and there do eke out (the big action setpiece on a snowy mountain, the freestyle elevator rap)</b></div>
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<b>+ Good use of 3D (okay, I might be grasping for straws now on this "Pros" column...)</b></div>
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<b>+ Unlike so many other things with Michael Bay's name attached, the film avoids feeling needlessly bloated with a reasonable, fairly painless 100 minute runtime (yep, <i><u>definitely</u></i> grasping for straws now...)</b></div>
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<b>+ It's still nowhere near as bad as <i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III</i> (okay, I doubt that even counts as a compliment...)</b></div>
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<b><u>Cons:</u></b></div>
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<b>- The whole film feels overwhelmingly predictable, by-the-numbers, generic and derivative</b></div>
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<b>- The changes to the Turtles' origin story are egregious, needlessly complicated and built around a ridiculous number of inane, forced coincidental connections</b></div>
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<b>- Every single human character is stock, bland and one-dimensional, and there's nary a single character arc to hold the story together</b></div>
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<b>- The humour ranges from kind of amusing to groan-inducing when it involves the Turtles, but with the human characters it's consistently dead on arrival</b></div>
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<b>- The film's CGI visual effects creations are a mixed bag, with Splinter in particular looking downright ugly and off-putting</b></div>
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<b>- Action scenes are generally competent yet mostly uninspired</b></div>
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<b>- Various instances of characters making glaring oversights or outright stupid decisions (particularly April)</b><br />
<b>- Forced, often lame references to famous lines/catchphrases from the original cartoon (though hearing Shredder say "Tonight I dine on turtle soup" is awesomely hilarious)</b><br />
<b>- Michelangelo's constant horniness for April borders too much on creepy territory...</b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-32984138323703430272014-08-01T14:39:00.001-07:002014-08-01T14:39:30.747-07:00<h2>
<u><i>Guardians of the Galaxy </i>Review: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" for Marvel Studios</u></h2>
<h3>
By Andrew Braid</h3>
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<b>Directed by James Gunn</b></div>
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<b>Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Djimon Hounsou, Karen Gillan, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio Del Toro</b></div>
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<b>Release Date: August 1, 2014</b></div>
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<b>Presented in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D (s</b><b>pecially formatted for IMAX screens)</b></div>
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It goes without saying now that Marvel Studios' cinematic hot streak is a game-changing, industry-shaping and unprecedented one. Even when one of their movies falls somewhat short of greatness (<i>Iron Man 2</i>, for instance), it still scores big time at the box office and any sour taste is quickly forgotten about once their next movie hits screens just a short while later. But all the risks they've taken along the way so far pale in comparison to what's riding on <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i>, their 10th feature film since 2008 and the last "Phase 2" Marvel movie before next year's mega-anticipated release of <i>Avengers: Age of Ultron</i>. Directed and co-written by James Gunn (the cult director of <i>Tromeo and Juliet</i>, <i>Slither</i>, <i>Super</i>), <i>Guardians</i> follows a ragtag group of cosmic heroes that, in stark contrast to the likes of Iron Man, Thor or Captain America, the vast majority of viewers have never even heard of before. In fact, they even lack much of a long history on comic book shelves: while the original Guardians of the Galaxy team debuted back in 1969, the current team which the film adapts was only formed back in May 2008 (coincidentally at the same time the original <i>Iron Man </i>was released and kickstarted the whole Marvel Studios canon). This film is the make-it-or-break-it point, the film meant to kick the doors wide open to a whole slew of cosmic characters from the Marvel Universe, and most importantly proof that the studio can get audiences to not only turn out for but fall in love with their characters no matter how unfamiliar or obscure they may be. </div>
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It's the biggest gamble Marvel has made so far, and I can most happily attest that, at least on a quality level, they've once again knocked it out of the park.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"What a bunch of a-holes..."</span></td></tr>
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<i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i> opens with Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) as a child being abducted by a mysterious alien spacecraft in 1988, following what has already been a traumatic, emotionally devastating day for the young boy. In the present day he's become a self-styled intergalactic outlaw who calls himself Star Lord, roaming the galaxy on the lookout for his latest score. He believes he's found it when he comes across an unknown ancient artifact hidden on the planet Morag, one which he ends up escaping with by the skin of his teeth. But it turns out this orb contains an Infinity Stone (a term Marvel fans ought to be very familiar with), an immensely powerful and destructive object which could spell certain doom for billions of people on the planet Xandar, who are the target of the fanatical Kree warlord Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). Ronan, under an agreement with the Mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin, setting the stage for his time to shine in <i>Avengers 3</i>), will stop at nothing to obtain the orb, and his genocidal quest gradually forces the Guardians of the Galaxy to form an uneasy alliance with one another. The role call includes vengeful brute Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), trained assassin and favoured "daughter" of Thanos Gamora (Zoe Saldana), and the inseparable bounty hunter duo of walking tree Groot (Vin Diesel) and genetically-engineered raccoon Rocket (Bradley Cooper). They're the only hope Xandar has, and they're up to the task... if they don't get each other killed first.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-Star-Lord-Gamora-kiss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-Star-Lord-Gamora-kiss.jpg" height="206" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Much like Captain Kirk before him, Gamora's not the only alien beauty that Star Lord's tried to win over with his charms...</span></td></tr>
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When it's all boiled down to its base elements, the plot for <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i> is a very familiar, well-worn one: a ragtag group of outsiders is forced together by circumstance to save the day from the forces of evil, all in the name of trying to secure a valuable MacGuffin object. But in terms of execution, director James Gunn the film counters this familiarity with a particular brand of winking acknowledgement and carefree irreverence. Peter Quill, a child of the 1980s still clinging to the dated pop culture of his youth before being scooped up from Earth, uses this filmgoing savvy not just for the sake of humour (particularly any line involving <i>Footloose</i>) but to point out the tropes the story is so gung-ho about diving into. Through Quill the film compares the orb everyone's chasing after to the Maltese Falcon, the classic movie king of MacGuffins. The opening credits unfurl as he sets foot on a mysterious new world in search of treasures, recalling <i>Raiders of the Lost Ark</i> with its moody, unknown atmosphere, only to soon undercut it once Peter kicks out the jams to Redbone's "Come and Get Your Love". Much of <i>Guardians of the Galaxy </i>is built upon taking what you'd expect from a sci-fi action movie and subverting it with its own kooky sense of humour and self-awareness, all while still getting us genuinely engaged on an emotional level with its gang of misfit outlaws. Gunn's approach is much like that of his Marvel alumni Joss Whedon (albeit not quite so shoved in your face). And does it work? Well, as Rocket Raccoon might say...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Oh... YEAH..."</span></td></tr>
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Marvel's success on the moviemaking scene so far has all come down to their innate understanding of character, always giving it top priority over the story itself. Even if the film's story stumbles at any point, the audience will still be engaged if they're invested in the plights of our heroes and enjoy being in their company. Heck, even in a twisty, paranoia-laden conspiracy thriller setting like the recent <i>Captain America: The Winter Soldier</i>, the focus of the film is put on the characters first and foremost. <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i> is no different in that regard, prioritizing character interaction and comedic interplay above a galaxy-threatening plot that, for much of the runtime, our heroes can hardly muster any energy to care about. What's most impressive about <i>Guardians</i> is how well-balanced its titular ensemble is. All five of the Guardians each get ample time to shine with great laugh lines and badass action moments. Groot may lack a vocabulary (he only ever says "I am Groot"), but he more than makes up for it with heart and soul, always the most well-intentioned of the group. Rocket Raccoon takes every chance he gets to steal a scene, combining flippant wisecracking with the impassioned anger of a wounded animal. He's experienced much abuse and loneliness in his past, and needs the powerful yet naive Groot by his side more than he'd ever like to admit. Dave Bautista proves a huge surprise as Drax, playing his violent, dumb bruiser of a character with such utter conviction and sincerity that he actually manages to get some of the biggest laughs in the entire movie. Zoe Saldana's Gamora is namely playing the straight-woman of the group dynamic (an essential part of any real comedy ensemble), but she gets plenty of opportunity to kick ass in a fight and shows strong chemistry with Chris Pratt's Star Lord (I will now never stop laughing at the phrase "pelvic sorcery"). Speaking of Star Lord, Chris Pratt takes his big breakthrough opportunity and owns it in what's destined to be a star-making turn. Pratt oozes brash swagger, coolness and charm, and he kills it when it's time to show the character's goofier side. At the same time though he allows us to see the more emotional underbelly of what makes Peter Quill tick, a man clearly shaped by unresolved traumas and a longing for the life he's lost.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://turntherightcorner.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/guardians-of-the-galaxy-movie-screenshot-star-lord-3.jpg?w=1024" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://turntherightcorner.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/guardians-of-the-galaxy-movie-screenshot-star-lord-3.jpg?w=1024" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another close escape for the legendary outlaw Star Lord...</span></td></tr>
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The film is packed with inventive and high-energy action throughout its running time, delivering all the spaceship battles, brawls and shootouts one could ask for without ever going too overboard into excess. The action is always tied into the flow of the story- it never exists purely for its own sake, and it's always infused with a smattering of laughs as our mismatched team of outlaws bicker and struggle to coordinate with one another. It's all supported by fantastic visual effects, creating worlds of huge scale and creating all manner of alien characters through both extensive makeup work and first-class computer animation. Rocket and Groot in particular are amazing CG creations- if <i>Superman</i>'s tagline was "You will believe a man can fly", then <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i>'s tagline ought to be "You will believe a raccoon can talk, while also wielding a high-powered space machine gun". Further adding to the visual grandeur is the use of 3D, something which Marvel movies have struggled to really utilize up to this point (usually ranging from decent yet unnecessary to downright detrimental to the viewing experience). Despite being post-converted the film was clearly planned with 3D in mind, having a lot of fun throwing things at the audience, swooping through tight openings in ship chases, and evoking a grand sense of awe as every new location seems to reach out into the stars of space. I particularly have to recommend seeing the movie in IMAX 3D if you can, as several scenes from the movie have expanded the film's aspect ratio to fill the full IMAX frame, making for one truly eye-popping experience.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.adamwarrock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/guardians-of-the-galaxy-groot-rocket.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.adamwarrock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/guardians-of-the-galaxy-groot-rocket.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Aside from being equally hilarious and flat-out awesome, Rocket and Groot are amazing creations of CG visual effects, making them all the easier to believe in as characters.</span></td></tr>
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<i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i> is the most shamelessly fun, deliriously funny, and satisfyingly action-stuffed blockbuster this whole summer, one that's destined to have amazing replay value among both Marvel fans and movie fans in general. Unlike previous continuity-heavy "Phase 2" Marvel films <i>Guardians</i> is wholly accessible as a standalone action-comedy, yet the Marvel diehards can still expect to be greatly rewarded as they see how this latest film fits into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe (and get some cool character cameos and easter eggs in the process). It revels in and slyly winks at its own sense of familiarity, all while using its amazing cast interplay, offbeat humour and killer soundtrack to infuse it with its own distinct and irresistible flavour. The summer movie season this year has recently been suffering a deadly dry spell (<i>Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</i> notwithstanding), and <i>Guardians of the Galaxy </i>proves to be the perfect blockbuster to give the moviegoing scene some much-needed spark and vitality again.<br />
While every hot streak has to go cold at some point, for the moment at Marvel it seems that the sky's the limit. Heck, if <i>Guardians</i> is any indication, the limit clearly goes beyond not just the sky but the reaches of space itself.</div>
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<b>Final Review Score: 9.5 / 10</b></h3>
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<b><u>Pros:</u></b></div>
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<b>+ An amazing cast where everyone on our team of heroes gets ample time to shine</b></div>
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<b>+ A gut-bustingly hilarious script with tons of killer team interplay and subversive irreverence</b></div>
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<b>+ An expertly paced 2 hours that's packed with one exciting, creative action sequence after another</b></div>
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<b>+ Fantastic visual effects are joined by surprisingly great use of 3D (particularly in IMAX)</b></div>
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<b>+ Accessible blockbuster fun that's still stuffed with fanservice </b></div>
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<b>+ The music (both Tyler Bates' score and the lively 70s/80s soundtrack) kick all kinds of ass, proving integral to the film's distinct identity</b></div>
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<b>+ That end-credits scene... (I wouldn't dare spoil it, it's just too awesome)</b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-35312491242607214892014-07-15T23:55:00.000-07:002014-07-15T23:55:25.025-07:00<h2>
<u><i>Dawn of the Planet of the Apes </i>Review: No Matter What You Do, The Dawn is Coming</u></h2>
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By Andrew Braid</h3>
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<b>Directed by Matt Reeves</b></div>
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<b>Starring: Andy Serkis, Toby Kebbell, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Gary Oldman, Judy Greer, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary</b></div>
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<b>Release Date: July 11, 2014</b></div>
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<b>Presented in 2D and 3D</b></div>
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I've seen <i>Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</i> twice now, and I'm still kinda blown away that it exists. Not in the fact that it exists as a sequel to the surprisingly successful franchise reboot that was 2011's<i> Rise of the Planet of the Apes</i>. But rather I'm blown away that director and <i>Planet of the Apes</i> super-fan Matt Reeves (<i>Cloverfield</i>, <i>Let Me In</i>) really got carte blanche to spend $170 million (or nearly twice as much as the last one cost to produce) on a blockbuster that seems to spend practically its entire running time spitting in the face of the tired or familiar tropes and cliches that we've come to expect from summer blockbusters (it's literally the complete, utter antithesis to a movie like <i>Transformers: Age of Extinction</i>). This is a big effects-heavy action blockbuster where half the major characters speak through subtitle-translated sign language, or even say everything they need to without any dialogue at all (gasp!). This is a blockbuster action movie that, aside from a gripping opening hunting sequence, completely holds off on any kind of big-scale action sequences for two thirds of its 130-minute running time. This is a major blockbuster that doesn't sugarcoat or hand-hold, one that doesn't offer any easy answers to complex and challenging situations, one that not only inevitably leads to a downbeat conclusion but <u>revels</u> in it. In essence it's much in the vein of the original <i>Planet of the Apes</i> films, mixing a topsy-turvy populist sci-fi concept ("Dude, what if <b>people</b> were the ones in cages, and <b>apes</b> ran the world?") with relevant social commentary and an informed, ultimately pessimistic worldview. But at the same time it's freshly imbued with a new sense of purpose, backed by huge advances in special effects technology since the days of men in makeup and ape masks. There was nothing like the <i>Planet of the Apes </i>series back in its time: a big Hollywood movie series back when franchises were uncommon, one built around making viewers reflect upon themselves and what they believe rather than merely entertaining them with fantastical action or out-there visions of the future. Despite its surface appearances, escapism this series wasn't- this was pure science fiction through and through. Ever since the shift to the blockbuster age with <i>Jaws</i> and <i>Star Wars</i> it seemed as if there was no place for something dark and intellectually heavy like the <i>Apes</i> series anymore, and certainly not for a multi-movie franchise.<br />
So it gives me great pleasure to announce that <i>Planet of the Apes</i> is back for a new age, and frankly it couldn't have come back at a time where it's more needed.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">To say the apes have strict anti-gun laws in this movie is putting it mildly...</span></td></tr>
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For those who didn't see it (though you honestly ought to if you haven't),<i> Rise of the Planet of the Apes </i>ends with Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his fellow apes, now gifted with enhanced intelligence as the result of a experimental drug called the ALZ-113 (meant to cure Alzheimer's Disease), having escaped from captivity and making a new home for themselves in the forests outside of San Francisco. However it turns out the ALZ-113 is lethal to humans, and as that film ended (and as this one begins) the virus now known as the "Simian Flu" wipes out humanity by the millions and throws the world into post-apocalyptic chaos. <i>Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</i> begins 10 years later, and Caesar has become the leader of the apes' peaceful new society, leading hunts and having his good friend Maurice (Karin Konoval) help teach the laws of their new world, with one in particular standing above all: "Ape not kill ape". Caesar, whose wife Cornelia (Judy Greer) has just given birth to their second child, feels that all their building and hard work has finally paid off.<br />
All that gets thrown through a loop when Caesar's son Blue Eyes (Nick Thurston) and his friend have a chance run-in with humans, the first sighting of any humans in two years. Things don't get off to a good start, and Caesar makes his presence known to the colony of human survivors living in the ruins of San Francisco: he doesn't want war, but is ready to fight if he must, and doesn't want any more humans coming by their territory. The problem is the colony, led by Dreyfus (Gary Oldman), is running out of supplies and needs to restore power to the city by accessing a hydroelectric dam that happens to be near the apes' home. While Dreyfus is desperate and unafraid to retaliate with violence, Malcolm (Jason Clarke) insists that he can work out a peace with Caesar and the apes, and will take a few days to try and reason out a truce and gain access to the dam. While it proves challenging and has its setbacks, Malcolm and his family gradually earns Caesar's trust, much to the dismay of Koba (Toby Kebbell), Caesar's second-in-command whose history of torture and lab experiments at the hands of humans blinds him with hatred. Malcolm and Caesar try to do whatever they can to convince their people to stop a conflict from breaking out, but it only takes the actions of a few individuals to spark a fire that can engulf us all...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static1.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1784961.1399581401!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_970/dawn-planet-apes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://static1.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1784961.1399581401!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_970/dawn-planet-apes.jpg" height="206" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pictured: Gary Oldman, rehearsing for his Playboy interview</span></td></tr>
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<br />
<i>Dawn</i>'s story shares much in common with the final entry in the original Apes film series, 1973's <i>Battle for the Planet of the Apes, </i>which honestly doesn't seem like such a great sign on paper when you consider how bland, tired and thoroughly mediocre that movie was (definitely the worst of the original series- say what you will about <i>Beneath the Planet of the Apes</i>, what with its hardly-even-giving-a-shit Charlton Heston and all that trippy, bonkers stuff going on with telepathic mutants, at least it wasn't boring). But an intelligent, thoughtful script combined with Weta Digital's truly astounding motion-capture visual effects work elevates it eons beyond the inspiration for its genesis. The film smartly keeps the conflict between humans and apes a simple one on the surface, allowing the depth and complexity to come from the characters and their varied feelings and emotions about it- their histories, their wants and desires, their personal prejudices. It all weaves a layered tapestry of ideals that speaks to the many facets of human nature, good and bad. Both man and ape don't intrinsically want war or bloodshed, but they can easily be swayed into it through the right combination of catalysts. It's so easy to dehumanize your enemy when your enemy literally used to be mere animals, and Caesar discovers the hard way that looking at things through that "us/them" divide can blind you to those among "us" that may not be so trustworthy. This is a film where every character's decisions hold weight and impact- it makes the buildup-heavy focus of the first two thirds all the more tense, and the fateful choices made by Caesar and others in the final act all the more powerful.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/9057/1d/images.fandango.com/images/fandangoblog/dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-trailer-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/9057/1d/images.fandango.com/images/fandangoblog/dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-trailer-00.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"War... has... already begun..."</span></td></tr>
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The cast is fantastic, with nary a weak link in sight on either the human or ape sides. Jason Clarke's Malcolm proves an intelligent, desperately idealistic leading man who really relates to Caesar in how they both feel the weight of the world on their shoulders, and it's a constant struggle not to cave from the pressure. Nick Thurston plays Caesar's son Blue Eyes with few spoken words but an abundance of subtle emotions as his more rebellious teenage instincts threaten to lead him down a seductive yet ruinous path (a scene where he breaks down to his father is short yet nonetheless heart-wrenching). Gary Oldman's Dreyfus is less some scenery-chewing antagonist that you might expect and much more a real, flawed human being who's trying his best to keep control and calm among a colony of people scared for their very future and survival. Oldman beautifully sells the character's honest and personal humanity, effectively establishing him as a human counterpart to Koba even though the film oddly avoids giving him screentime during the middle section of the film.<br />
In fact the only real complaint I could find myself having with <i>Dawn</i> overall is that I kind of wished there was a bit more time with a few of the supporting characters. While characters like Malcolm's wife Ellie (Keri Russell) and son Alex (Kodi Smit-McPhee) get some solid moments to work with, other characters like Maurice and Rocket find themselves wanting for screentime (also Maurice is just kind of awesome, so of course I want more scenes with him). Apparently there are a few deleted scenes lying around the cutting room floor involving some supporting characters like Caesar's wife Cornelia (who gets next to nothing to do in the final cut of the movie), and it can't help but make me wish for an extended cut to be released later. Then again, I completely understand making such cuts for the sake of the film's pacing (which flows smoothly with tension and patient buildup), and the film nails the core trio of character arcs involving Caesar, Malcolm and Koba. If you really think about it, it's probably a really good sign for the movie's quality that I actually wanted <b>more</b> of it- that's not something I find myself saying often.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static2.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1784962.1399581402!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_970/dawn-planet-apes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://static2.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1784962.1399581402!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_970/dawn-planet-apes.jpg" height="207" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A cute, sweet little moment that takes us out of all the moral greys and looming violence (so yeah, don't get used to it folks).</span></td></tr>
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As great as the cast is overall, it's undeniable that the two major standouts here are Andy Serkis as Caesar and Toby Kebbell as Koba. Serkis' impressive showing should come as no surprise, as motion-capture's original thespian actor already commanded the screen when we were introduced to Caesar in the previous film. But <i>Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</i> takes the character even further, having every motion, every expression on Caesar's face saying all manner of things. He is more matured this time around, wearier and more conflicted with how to handle a very dangerous and delicate situation. He is a wholly fleshed out, nuanced and spectacularly realized character brought to life through the tag-team of incredible computer animation and Serkis' master-class performance (seriously guys, at <b>least</b> give an honorary Oscar or something).<br />
You wouldn't think anyone could stand toe-to-toe with Serkis (especially not in a mo-cap suit), yet Toby Kebbell comes almost out of nowhere to do exactly that. Kebbell makes Koba so much more than some easy one-note bad guy, giving him a real sense of humanity (never mind the irony of that statement considering his hatred of humans). We see him as a wounded soul, one whose many scars have made it impossible for him to ever forget his hatred of humans, let alone move past it. His feelings are entirely justified and sympathetic, and even though he opts for the violent path he really does want to do what's best for his fellow apes. This makes it all the more horrifying when that violent path and thirst for vengeance corrupts him, as his actions become increasingly monstrous once he first steps over the line. It's a fantastic performance that stands as the best villain put to screen so far this year, a dark turn that you won't soon forget. (I'm suddenly <u>really</u> excited that this guy is playing Doctor Doom in the new <i>Fantastic Four</i> movie next year...)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/53a25fc569bedd7f4e688200-960/dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/53a25fc569bedd7f4e688200-960/dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-5.png" height="215" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Koba easily stands as the best villain of any movie this year, frightening and ruthless yet also chillingly sympathetic in his anger and rage.</span></td></tr>
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In a year brimming with great science fiction films such as <i>Edge of Tomorrow</i>, the "I desperately need to see it whenever it actually comes out here" <i>Snowpiercer</i>, and the "sure to be awesome because come on, it's Christopher Nolan" <i>Interstellar</i>, <i>Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</i> may very well have just become the year's frontrunner. Not only does it stand on its own merits as a thoughtful, nuanced and profoundly emotional picture on its own merits, but it essentially becomes <i>The Dark Knight</i> to its predecessor's <i>Batman Begins</i>, growing on the foundation laid out by its already great predecessor and ultimately exceeding it in pretty much every possible way. As his third feature film <i>Dawn</i> also proves once and for all that Matt Reeves truly is a great director who, in embracing all the things he loves about the long-running Apes franchise, has ended up making the best film in the entire series. By the time the film reaches its beautiful, sobering conclusion (one that fits the Apes series to a T), you'll be left breathlessly questioning what's going to come next.<br />
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<h3>
<b>Final Score: 9.5 / 10</b></h3>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><u>Pros:</u></b></div>
<div>
<b>+ A big-budget summer blockbuster that feels almost nothing like one- patient, intelligent and subtle entertainment</b><br />
<b>+ The visual effects work really is incredible ("Oscar-worthy" doesn't even summarize it)</b><br />
<b>+ A classic-style <i>Planet of the Apes</i> film through and through, with tense pacing, sobering darkness and thoughtful science fiction themes</b><br />
<b>+ A simple yet gripping conflict flooded with complex, multidimensional characters</b><br />
<b>+ Excellent lead performances from mo-cap master Andy Serkis as Caesar and Toby Kebbell as Koba</b><br />
<b>+ That ending... just <u>perfect</u>...</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><u>Cons:</u></b></div>
<div>
<b>- A bit more time with the great supporting cast would have been nice (despite slowing the pace)</b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-75875095128941984362014-06-29T16:59:00.000-07:002014-06-29T16:59:52.997-07:00<h2>
<u><i>Maleficent</i> Review: A Most Twisted Take on a Familiar Tale</u></h2>
<h3>
By Andrew Braid</h3>
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<a href="http://marieclaire.media.ipcdigital.co.uk/11116/00007d951/b2bd_orh100000w440/maleficent-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://marieclaire.media.ipcdigital.co.uk/11116/00007d951/b2bd_orh100000w440/maleficent-poster.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<b>Directed by Robert Stromberg</b></div>
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<b>Starring: Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Brenton Thwaites, Imelda Staunton, Lesley Manville, Juno Temple</b></div>
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<b>Release Date: May 30, 2014</b></div>
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<b>Presented in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D</b></div>
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I'm not really sure where to start with this one.</div>
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<i>Maleficent</i> is an... interesting beastie to say the least. A new live-action retelling of the classic Disney animated feature <i>Sleeping Beauty</i> (and one that definitely takes advantage of that film's familiar iconography), star Angelina Jolie's storybook style narration immediately establishes the film's mission statement: namely that the familiar story Disney had been telling us for decades was wrong this entire time. No, <b>this</b> was the true story that you never knew before. Now, being a hardcore Disney fan since birth I could tell you that such a statement is a very risky one to say the least, one that could backfire spectacularly with audiences if not executed with both boldness and grace. And if there's anything I can say favourably of <i>Maleficent</i> (aside from the pitch-perfect casting of Angelina Jolie as the title character), it's that it certainly gets that first one down.<br />
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The film is split into three acts: the first act presents the origins of Maleficent and why she went bad, the second act is mainly a revised version of Disney's <i>Sleeping Beauty</i>, and the third act has a decidedly different big climax and final battle at the end. There isn't really any way to talk about plot and character in this movie that won't involve <b><u>SPOILERS</u></b>, so I just think I ought to disclaim about that before saying anything more.<br />
Okay then, so the story actually opens with Maelficent (Angelina Jolie) as a young girl, a sweet and powerful fairy beloved by all in her realm. But the humans have a (unsurprisingly irrational) hatred of the fairies and their kingdom, so the two sides have a fair level of tensions between them. Maleficent meets the peasant orphan Stephan (Sharlto Copley) as a child and the two become friends and fall in love as they grow older. But Stefan becomes driven by ambition to gain power in the human kingdom, and Maleficent's defiance of the aging king has made her a target, enough so that the dying ruler offers the throne to anyone who can kill her.<br />
And here is where things get dark...<br />
The film's big origin twist (and by far the most controversial element of the film) involves Stefan seducing Maleficent, drugging her drink, and cutting off her wings as a trophy for the king so he can ascend to power. The implications aren't hard to pick up on: Maleficent was essentially date raped by a man she loved and trusted, and furthermore the removal of her wings is symbolic of castration or genital mutilation, the forceful removal of her name source of female empowerment (he tries to kill her at first, but can't bring himself to bring the dagger down- adding an extra layer of male impotency). The sequence itself is undoubtedly the most shocking and powerful in the film, primarily anchored by Jolie's commanding performance- her reactions of shock, pained screams, struggling to walk up again, it all compellingly conveys the dark metaphor. This shell-shocking event kickstarts Maleficent's personal journey as we see her enact revenge on Stephan by cursing his newborn daughter Aurora, only to end up watching over her and ultimately becoming a true mother figure for the sixteen-year old princess (especially since the three fairies charged with caring for her sure as hell can't do it). This mother-daughter bond with Aurora is what allows Maleficent's closed-off, wounded heart to gradually thaw, and eventually lead to her regaining her sense of love and proud womanhood again. Considering just how easily this whole direction could have gone horribly, horribly wrong, it's admirable that it uses this twist to create an effective, fully-fleshed out character arc for our title villain (now reinvented as an antihero).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140319211646/disney/images/5/5c/Maleficent-(2014)-68.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140319211646/disney/images/5/5c/Maleficent-(2014)-68.JPG" height="264" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jolie is perfectly cast in the title role, and Sam Riley makes for a solid sidekick in Dioval.</span></td></tr>
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If only the overall execution of everything else in the film were better. Instead <i>Maleficent</i> is hugely uneven. The comic relief, the main source of which being the three incompetent fairies Knotgrass (Imelda Staunton), Thistlewit (Juno Temple) and Flittle (Lesley Manville), often grates rather than amuses. The middle act feels somewhat padded, as if the writers were struggling to come up with filler to bide time before the third-act climax where all the real plot and action happen (and even then the big climax feels oddly underwhelming, at least from an action-based perspective). The dialogue is all over the place, often ranging from decent in one scene to almost cringeworthy in the next (<u>especially</u> when it's trying to be sugary-sweet). The film's tone often shifts awkwardly from dark and sinister to attempts at cutesiness and whimsy that often feel forced and transparent, decidedly at odds with, well, the violence and rape metaphors. This isn't helped by creature design that ranges from uninspired (<i>LotR</i> Ent ripoffs, water pixies) to downright ugly (whatever the hell those subpar-CG troll-esque things are), yet the film still insists that they're apparently supposed to be all sweet and cuddly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/screencrush.com/files/2014/05/maleficent-photo-gallery-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/screencrush.com/files/2014/05/maleficent-photo-gallery-4.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Seriously, I have no clue what the hell this thing is supposed to be. It looks like some rejected <i>Spore</i> creation...</span></td></tr>
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While Jolie does a fantastic job anchoring the film through many of its faults, expertly conveying a balance between wickedness and vulnerability, the rest of the cast isn't quite as up to snuff. Not that there aren't some exceptions- Sam Riley makes a fun sidekick for Maleficent as the shapeshifting raven Dioval, showing some wry charm and a second conscience for our conflicted title character. And Sharlto Copley is appropriately slimy as King Stephan, growling as bellowing as he grows in deranged madness and obsession. But the rest of the cast is undone by having little to work with. Elle Fanning has proven a great young actress in other films, but her Princess Aurora is just a pretty young face and literally nothing else. She and Brenton Thwaites as Prince Phillip are about as charismatic and interesting as a concrete wall, and the film seems to know it- their characters are literally treated like props for Maleficent to magically freeze and transport from plot point A to plot point B. And while Staunton, Temple and Manville are all fine actresses, they're stuck playing a trio of dolts who prove more annoying than amusing (plus it doesn't help that their CG fairy forms can't decide to look realistic or exaggerated, and just end up looking like creepy victims of the uncanny valley).<br />
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<i>Maleficent</i> is a film I can't help but feel very torn on. It has a bold concept and a strong lead performance to anchor it, but lacks a balanced tone and consistent level of quality needed to make it fully click. It's a film I can admire and even respect, but can't genuinely like even though I really wish I could. Judging by its success however it's clear that many have caught on to the film's messages about abuse, motherhood and regaining female empowerment, and I do think those messages are both well-conveyed and valuable to have despite the film's overall messy unevenness. If anything it makes a statement that Disney's upcoming wave of live-action remakes of their animated properties (which will include <i>Cinderella</i>, <i>The Jungle Book</i> and <i>Beauty and the Beast</i>) may at least have some interesting things to offer after all...</div>
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<br /></div>
<h3>
<b>Final Score: 5 / 10</b></h3>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<u><b>Pros:</b></u></div>
<div>
<b>+ Angelina Jolie's commanding, wicked-yet-sympathetic lead performance</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ A bold, subversive and surprisingly dark revision of a classic tale</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ The film gives Maleficent a complex, effective, fully fleshed-out character arc</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ Sam Riley's Dioval proves a fun sidekick foil for our title antihero</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b><u>Cons:</u></b></div>
<div>
<b>- The more cutesy and whimsical moments often clash with the film's predominantly darker themes</b></div>
<div>
<b>- The comic relief (mainly from the three fairies) frequently grates</b></div>
<div>
<b>- The visual effects are somewhat of a mixed bag, and the creature designs range from uninspired to downright ugly</b></div>
<div>
<b>- The film's middle act often sags, feeling like it's mostly biding time for the climax to get underway</b></div>
<div>
<b>- Dialogue quality is all over the place, ranging from solid to cringeworthy</b></div>
<div>
<b>- The big finale is rather underwhelming from an action standpoint</b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-79692835079033156482014-06-28T15:17:00.000-07:002014-06-28T15:17:18.175-07:00<h2>
<u><i>Transformers: Age of Extinction</i> Review: Same Old Explosions, (Somewhat) New Coat of Paint</u></h2>
<h3>
By Andrew Braid</h3>
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<a href="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/screencrush.com/files/2014/06/transformers-4-poster-imax.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/screencrush.com/files/2014/06/transformers-4-poster-imax.jpg" height="640" width="432" /></a></div>
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<b>Directed by Michael Bay</b></div>
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<b>Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Li Bingbing, T.J. Miller</b></div>
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<b>Voice Cast for the Transformers (aka the characters you actually care about): Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, John Goodman, Ken Watanabe, John DiMaggio, Mark Ryan, Reno Wilson</b></div>
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<b>Release Date: June 27, 2014</b></div>
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<b>Presented in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D (shot with IMAX 3D cameras)</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><br /></b>
<i>Transformers: Age of Extinction</i> is a spectacularly dumb movie.<br />
Four movies into director Michael Bay's mega-blockbuster <i>Transformers</i> series this statement must sound beyond redundant, especially since the presence of the Dinobots in this new entry should be a pretty immediate tipoff to that fact. Loved by many general audiences and despised by most critics and film fans, Michael Bay's films have always sharply divided these two since the beginning of his feature film career, and the <i>Transformers</i> movies in particular have become emblematic of this lowbrow/highbrow divide. It's loud, stupid, often crude spectacle, and it sends any respectable or self-respecting film viewer into a spiral of despair when they see just how many boatloads of money the latest one has pulled in at the box office (not to mention the sh**tons of money these movies make off of toy sales and merchandising). It's very much an "us or them" kind of divide, not unlike the duelling factions of Autobot and Decepticon: you're either a fan of these movies (and will most definitely enjoy the rebooted yet still familiar approach that <i>Age of Extinction</i> has to offer), or you will hate them with a fiery passion (in which case I can guarantee all the changes made for the better compared to prior entries still won't change your mind).<br />
Me, I'm more on the fence. I grew up as (and still am) a fan of multiple iterations of the <i>Transformers</i> animated series, even if it's often on a guilty pleasure "cheesy dumb fun" kind of level (though the most recent series, <i>Transformers Prime</i>, is genuinely pretty great). I've played and enjoyed the <i>War for Cybertron</i> game series by High Moon Studios, which showed genuine respect and reverence for the franchise's history. As for the previous Michael Bay <i>Transformers</i> movies I enjoyed the first and third films on a guilty pleasure "trashy yet fun" level, while vehemently despising the second instalment <i>Revenge of the Fallen </i>(still Bay's worst movie to date, and one of the absolute worst Hollywood blockbusters in recent years). I'm never going to defend these movies as "artistic" or even any genuine kind of good films, but part of me has to admit when I have fun in spite of my critical standards, even when it feels trashy and kind of shameful afterwards. And despite its several rebooted changes (many of which are for the better), <i>Transformers: Age of Extinction</i> isn't really any different.<br />
So yeah, I had some fun. What else can I say? Well...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.moviecricket.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Transformers-Age-of-Extinction-Film-Review-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.moviecricket.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Transformers-Age-of-Extinction-Film-Review-1.jpg" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Optimus Prime readies his blade to defend against the impending onslaught of critics...</span></td></tr>
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In terms of plot (aka that thing these movies still technically have), <i>Age of Extinction</i> is distinctly different from the previous entries, yet ultimately rather familiar. In the four years since the attack on Chicago that closed out <i>Transformers: Dark of the Moon</i>, the U.S. government has ceased ties with the Autobots and begun hunting and eliminating the transformers (good and bad) through an elite CIA task force headed by cold-blooded agent Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer). He then hands the transformers' parts to genius technological billionaire and obvious riff on Steve Jobs Joshua Joyce (Stanley Tucci), who has figured out how to use their genetic makeup (called "Transformium"- no, really) to build their own man-made transformers who can remain under government control. However, some of the Autobots are still out there in hiding, as down-on-his-luck Texas robotics inventor Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg- and yes, that's actually his character's name) indadvertedly finds and repairs an injured Optimus Prime. Once the CIA picks up on Optimus' presence Cade and his teenage daughter Tessa (Nikola Peltz) become fugitives from the law who must evade capture and try to take out this new threat to their very livelihood. But Cade, Tessa and her boyfriend Shane (Jack Reynor) have more than just human agents and man-made transformers (led by Galvatron) to worry about: Attinger's ace in the hole is Lockdown, a transformer with no allegiance to Autobots or Decepticons, an intergalactic bounty hunter with a massive, fearsome ship of alien relics and captives. Though he works for Attinger now, Lockdown has his own plans involving an ancient "seed" that may be the source of how the transformers first came to be...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://turntherightcorner.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/transformers-4-age-of-extinction-movie-screenshot-lockdown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://turntherightcorner.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/transformers-4-age-of-extinction-movie-screenshot-lockdown.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lockdown easily stands as the series' best villain to date (though it's not like he had much competition).</span></td></tr>
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Whereas the previous three films didn't really have much of any kind of message or anything to say aside from "good must stand to fight against evil when it comes, blah blah blah something explosions", <i>Age of Extinction</i> actually does raise a few ideas that hadn't really been raised by the series before. The conflict involves scientific ethics, the dangers of seemingly limitless possibilities, and the notion that some things just shouldn't be invented. Transformium (I seriously can't believe I have to write this with a straight face) can and could accomplish untold wonders, but under the control of someone like Attinger it's only ever going to accomplish bloodshed and destruction. Moreover the film reminds us that contrary to Attinger's cold conviction, the transformers are more than just metal machines, but living, feeling beings who even literally possess souls (aka their "spark"). So the fact that they're being indiscriminately hunted down by people they used to trust actually has some weight to it, and informs the Autobots we have left in that they're much less willing to still put up the good fight. The Optimus Prime we're introduced to here is one angry, wounded and betrayed, and he seems to be sharing the other Autobots' sentiments to abandon humanity. He's a symbol of hope who's lost said hope, and it opens up opportunity for some kind of actual character arc for Optimus as Cade becomes his new link to the human race, another chance to convince him that we're worth saving and, more importantly, worth fighting for. Considering how little growth or character development the stoic leader of the Autobots ever tends to see, the fact that the film at least offers something is appreciated.<br />
Then again, all of these things would be considerably better if the film actually spent much time focusing on or developing them. Instead the film gets so caught up in its huge displays of over-the-top action that by the final stretch it seems to have almost completely forgotten about them. It does effectively set up and establish what the thrust of said action is about, but you'd expect at least a little more time for character development in a film that's 165 minutes long (oh yes, you read that right). The first act plays relatively fine, doing an adequate job establishing the new cast, but once the action kicks into high gear it really doesn't take much time to ease off said gear for the remaining 2 hours. Then again, this is certainly a boon for the many people who got impatient waiting for the big action setpieces they wanted to finally get underway in previous <i>Transformers</i> films. After the first half hour or so you get all that action in spades, without having to wade through at least an hour and a half of crude comic relief hijinks or military fetishism (unlike the previous entries, the U.S. army gets practically no mention at all, and the government is portrayed as either incompetent or villainous rather than patriotically hero-worshipped). Don't get me wrong, the film still has plenty of plot squeezed in (recall the bloated 165 minute runtime), but it often gets distracted from making the most of its characters or whatever ideas and themes it has. We certainly know <b>why</b> everyone's fighting and why the Macguffin ("the Seed") is important, but the implications surrounding the big destructive carnage are often lost in the shuffle.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Transformers-4-Age-of-Extinction-Mark-Wahlberg-Jack-Reynor-and-Nicola-Pelt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Transformers-4-Age-of-Extinction-Mark-Wahlberg-Jack-Reynor-and-Nicola-Pelt.jpg" height="268" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Transformers 4</i>, also starring Marky Mark, dead weight, and who cares?</span></td></tr>
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Not that the action isn't impressive, mind you: in fact, on a purely technical and filmmaking level this is the best action and direction the series has yet seen. 3D is probably the best thing that's ever happened to Michael Bay, as the format has forced him to restrain his former frenetic rapid-cutting tendencies which at their worst made all the overblown action scenes practically incomprehensible (just try watching the climax of <i>Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen</i> and tell me you can actually follow everything that's happening. I dare you). Combine that with hugely improved, varied and distinct designs for all the transformers themselves (unlike the previous films, I could unquestionably distinguish which robot was which at any given moment) and the metal-on-metal smackdowns have never looked so good. About 60% of the film was shot with IMAX 3D cameras, and if you're honestly going to go see this then I can attest that is definitely the way to go- you get a massive sense of scale and detail from the frame-encompassing compositions (not to mention sound that may literally shake the earth around you). This is an undeniably admirable film on a technical level, and I say that as someone who is (most decidedly) not a fan of Michael Bay in general.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Plus there's this Autobot who's voiced by John DiMaggio (Bender, Jake the Dog, etc.), if that helps entice you at all...</span></td></tr>
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It also helps that the Autobots finally have an interesting villain to go up against in Lockdown, a skilled and experienced mercenary with no allegiance but to the mysterious "creators" who apparently disapprove of Optimus' desire to protect humanity. Aside from a great design, Lockdown rises above his (kinda pathetic) competition from the previous entries by giving us an antagonist with an air of intrigue who serves a higher purpose than some long-raging civil war yet still distinctly fights for himself in his remorseless pursuit. The extended action setpiece exploring his massive alien spaceship is a big highlight, providing a more otherworldly and enigmatic atmosphere that stands in high contrast to yet another human city getting blown up real good.<br />
Also joining in on the fight is the much-hyped live-action debut of the Dinobots, although many are bound to be disappointed that their screentime is decidedly lacking. After being set up in the early opening scenes, they don't actually pop up onscreen and do, well, what giant robot dinosaurs are wont to do until the last 25 minutes or so of the movie. In fact, they really aren't relevant or necessary to the plot at all- they just show up, do some sweet action stuff, and then go off to do who knows what at the end, presumably waiting to show up again in the next movie. They exist purely as attention-grabbing excuses for more spectacle and nothing more. Then again, any scenes involving fire-breathing robot dinosaurs are <b>way</b> better than none at all, so I guess I'll take what I can get.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Transformers-4-Age-of-Extinction-Grimlock-Fire-Breath-header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Transformers-4-Age-of-Extinction-Grimlock-Fire-Breath-header.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dinobots: so awesome that you don't really care that they basically have no actual reason to be in this movie...</span></td></tr>
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As for the human cast running away from all those technically-proficient explosions, <i>Age of Extinction</i> is (for the most part) a notable improvement for the series. The characters are, as you've probably pieced together, pretty thin and archetypal, but the actors generally make the most of what little they have. Mark Wahlberg leads the way as Cade Yeager (once again, yes, that is his real name), making the most of his gift for combining dopey earnestness with macho action star coolness (even if he's hilariously unconvincing as a robotics scientist). The film smartly carries much of its bloated weight on Wahlberg's shoulders, as he's the perfect kind of actor to anchor a film this over-the-top ridiculous yet frequently straight-faced (it helps that the crude and often all-around terrible comic relief of previous entries is mostly absent this time). Grammer is growling and ruthless as Attinger, while Stanley Tucci gamely commits to Joshua Joyce's perfection-obsessed smugness and bumbling panic. Jack Reynor, a relative newcomer in Hollywood, has been getting his name thrown around a lot in Hollywood casting calls in recent weeks, and it's not hard to see why as he shows a solid mix of wannabe tough-guy machismo and bumbling earnestness that could make him an ideal leading man type in the future (he plays quite well opposite a similarly earnest Wahlberg). The only real weak link in the cast is Nikola Peltz as Cade's teen daughter Tessa. Aside from the playing a whiny, bland, and generally useless character who might as well have the words "Kidnap me!" tattooed on her forehead (not to mention how the film awkwardly- and kind of hilariously- tries to justify sexualizing her 17-year old character), Peltz proves that her godawful performance in the infamously disastrous <i>The Last Airbender</i> wasn't a fluke. Rosie-Huntington Whitely played a better female lead in the last <i>Transformers</i>, and she was a Victoria's Secret model with literally zero acting experience.<br />
Look, if you liked the previous movies (well, the first and third ones, anyway), then you'll more or less know what you're getting into and odds are good that you'll enjoy what you see. My opinion or anyone else's isn't going to matter any which way in that case. On one hand, I cannot in any honest way say this movie is actually "good" in any non-technical-based sense: it's bombastically stupid, practically redefines the words "overlong" and "bloated", shamelessly filled with product placement, and weirdly littered with Asian stereotypes. On the other hand, though? I can't deny that I still had a good deal of fun snickering at all its straight-faced silliness and impressed by its array of robot battles and pyrotechnics, now shot and edited in a way where it genuinely feels huge-scale (not to mention visually comprehensible). It's like going out to party at some popular clubbing spot- it's noisy yet aesthetically pleasing sensory overload, and you have some fun despite the music being trashy, the drinks being even trashier, and the fact that you end up staying waaaay longer than you should have.<br />
That's essentially how I felt walking out of the theatre after seeing <i>Transformers: Age of Extinction</i> in IMAX 3D. My ears and head felt all buzzed and hungover, my ass was sore, my legs felt wobbly walking home, and I was struggling to remember much of what happened in the earlier parts of the movie. It was probably pretty bad, and undeniably bad for me, but I also had more fun than I expected and would feel comfortable admitting. Besides, I've also seen <i>Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen</i>, so I <b>know</b> I've had much worse clubbing experiences...</div>
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<b>(Probable) Actual Quality Score: 3 / 10</b></h3>
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<b>+</b></div>
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Guilty Pleasure Enjoyment Score: 7 / 10</h3>
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<b>Final Score: 5 / 10</b></h3>
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<b><u>Pros:</u></b></div>
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<b>+ The action scenes sure look fantastic in IMAX 3D, especially now that Michael Bay seems to have learned how to direct and edit in a (mostly) coherent way</b><br />
<b>+ The cast makes the most of what (embarrassingly little) they have, led by a reliably dopey and earnest (yet still somehow kinda cool) Mark Wahlberg</b><br />
<b>+ The transformer redesigns look <u>much</u> better than the previous movies</b><br />
<b>+ The loose semblance of what people often call "plot" in these movies actually tries to do something interesting this time</b><br />
<b>+ Lockdown is easily the best villain this series has yet had (and his ship is really cool)</b><br />
<b>+ The terrible "comic relief" of the previous films is mercifully lacking this time around, replaced by a generally darker tone</b><br />
<b>+ It's a <i>Transformers</i> movie!</b></div>
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<b><u>Cons:</u></b></div>
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<b>- It's a <i>Transformers</i> movie...</b><br />
<b>- <u>INCREDIBLY</u> dumb, even by most Michael Bay standards</b><br />
<b>- I don't care how many transformers, robot dinosaurs and explosions you have, it still doesn't excuse a preposterously bloated 165-minute (2 and 3/4 hours!!) running time</b><br />
<b>- Nikola Peltz teen daughter Tessa makes for the worst female lead this series has yet seen</b><br />
<b>- It's too bad whatever ideas this movie actually tries to have get almost completely forgotten about by the last third...</b><br />
<b>- The script and dialogue are often laughable</b><br />
<b>- Disappointingly lacking in Dinobot screentime</b><br />
<b>- Galvatron and the other man-made transformers end up feeling like afterthoughts by the end of the movie</b><br />
<b>- Hilariously blatant product placement, ranging from Bud Light and Beats audio to Lamborghini and... <i>My Little Pony</i>?!</b><br />
<b>- Still kinda racist... (though it doesn't even hold a candle in that department compared to <i>Revenge of the Fallen</i>)</b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-57337205632788349462014-06-25T22:16:00.002-07:002014-06-25T22:16:16.846-07:00<h2>
<u>"That's My Favourite Movie!": <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i></u></h2>
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By Andrew Braid</h3>
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<b>Directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois</b></div>
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<b>Screenplay by Will Davies, Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders</b></div>
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<b>Starring: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig</b></div>
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<b>Release Date: March 26, 2010</b></div>
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Hi everyone, and welcome to the first in a planned recurring series of columns called <u>"That's My Favourite Movie!"</u>. As for what it's about, well, judging from the title you can probably guess: in each entry I (or a guest writer) will talk about one of their favourite movies. What that talk entails exactly can be all sorts of things, be it one's favourite scenes, characters or elements of the film, memories of your experiences with the movie (be it the first, second, fifth or fiftieth viewing), personal interpretations of the film, and maybe even interesting behind-the-scenes facts. But the main reason for this series is to express why you love the movie in question: why it sticks with you, why you find yourself returning to it time and again, what it means to you. It may get bloated, it may even get kinda messy and scattered, but it's definitely going to be honest.</div>
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With the release of the much-anticipated sequel upon us, I thought it'd be a great time to look back at the widely-beloved original film, and one of my personal favourite films: <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i>.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Sorry, he's still a little bitter about losing to <i>Toy Story 3</i>..."</span></td></tr>
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Anyone who knows me would know very well that I'm a big animation buff. There's just so much the medium is capable of, so many things it can pull off that live-action just can't do, and it always irritates and disappoints me that there's still many people out there who see the medium as merely low-rent junk made for kids. If I had to give a list of my Top 5 Favourite Animated Films of all time, it would most certainly be a difficult undertaking- I'd want to represent a variety of styles and studios, to make something that's personal yet also captures the diversity of the medium. For Pixar I would undoubtedly choose <i>Up</i>, an emotional and thrilling journey about age and discovery that stands as the studio's funniest and most mature film to date. Picking just one film from Disney Animation is immensely difficult, though if we're throwing childhood nostalgia into the mix then I'd probably choose the best of the 90s Disney Renaissance features, <i>Beauty and the Beast</i> (other contenders include <i>Bambi</i>, <i>Fantasia </i>and<i> The Lion King</i>). Choosing a film from Japanese animation giant Studio Ghibli is an even greater challenge, as I still haven't figured out exactly which Hayao Miyazaki film is my absolute favourite (I'd say it's a three-way tossup between <i>Spirited Away</i>, <i>Princess Mononoke</i> and <i>Porco Rosso</i>). From Warner Bros. Animation comes the cult classic <i>The Iron Giant</i>, aka the only movie that can ever make me full-on cry- basically it's the cooler, funnier, all-around better version of <i>E.T.</i> (if I had to make a #1 pick, it would likely have to be this one).</div>
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And then there's the last movie on that Top 5 list: DreamWorks Animation's <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i>. DreamWorks is an animation studio that's gotten a lot of flack over the years, most of which isn't really deserved (emphasis on "most"- I still haven't forgotten <i>Shark Tale</i>, <i>Shrek the Third</i> or <i>Turbo</i>...). They're essentially to Disney and Pixar now what Warner Bros. and the Looney Tunes were to Disney back in the golden age (from the 1930s to the end of the 50s): the image of the cooler, funnier, more "hip"alternative to the squeaky-clean family image that Disney's always been clinging to (DreamWorks also shares the old Warner Bros. tradition of slipping in more "adult" jokes into many of their movies). This has gotten them a lot of commercial and audience love, but not much in terms of respect. They didn't start gaining a better image in the film community and critics' circles until 2008's <i>Kung Fu Panda</i>, which signalled a shift both in DreamWorks' approach to making movies and their own sense of identity as an animation studio. Rather than making mostly mass-appealing comedies (though they do still make those, albeit with generally more quality nowadays), the studio instead turned its focus to putting their own spins on various genre fare: the <i>Kung Fu Panda</i> films are directly influenced by classic Hong Kong martial arts cinema, <i>Monsters Vs. Aliens</i> pays homage to 1950s monster movies, <i>Megamind</i> deconstructs the formula of comic book superhero stories, and <i>Rise of the Guardians</i> is rooted in cultural legends and folklore.</div>
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<i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> changed everything for DreamWorks. Eschewing the primary focus on comedy that's common with the studio's other films (though it certainly has plenty of great humour throughout), <i>Dragon</i> is namely a fantasy-adventure film at heart, a soaring and altogether thrilling tale about a young teenage viking and the wounded creature he befriends. Unlike any other DreamWorks movie before it or since, this film would live or die based on its story alone, and the exemplary amount of care put into telling the tale of Hiccup and Toothless proved to many just what the studio was really capable of when they fire on all cylinders. </div>
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Not that the story is very original- in fact, nearly all the elements there are quite familiar. We have the tried-and-true "a boy and his dog/pet/alien/robot/magical friend" narrative at the film's core, mixed with a strained father/son relationship, a message about overcoming prejudice and even some bits of budding young romance (though <i>Dragon</i>'s Astrid is considerably more badass and better characterized than so many other female characters who become crushes/love interests for the hero). However I firmly believe that originality, while still valuable and absolutely welcome (especially in an industry littered with remakes, sequels and adaptations), isn't really a necessity. It's so difficult to be truly original in storytelling because most stories boil down to a lot of elements that, like it or not, have undoubtedly been done before in some shape or form. What matters most in storytelling is the quality and execution, not whether a story is really "original" or not. And <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> is an absolutely perfect example of this: you <u>know</u> in the back of your mind that you've seen this story before, but it's told in such an exciting, confident, emotional and visually breathtaking way that you honestly find no reason to care. It's a film that takes a well-worn narrative and makes it feel fresh and engaging no matter how many times I see it (and believe me, I've seen this movie a <b>LOT</b> of times).<br />
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The first time I saw <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> was in theatres, on a discount Tuesday about a week and a half after it opened. I initially intended to see it on its opening weekend, but I was strapped for cash at the time and had a good deal of assignments to take care of at the tail end of my first year in university. Initial trailers I remember looking decent but not exactly remarkable, though the final trailer that was released just a few weeks before release actually sold the movie pretty well (and ended up being a more accurate representation of the final film- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKiYuIsPxYk" target="_blank">you can see it here</a>). I had heard all the fantastic reviews and buzz about it that was beginning to swell, and was interested to see what the movie was really like. I wasn't exactly a big fan of DreamWorks Animation at the time- aside from the first two <i>Shrek</i> movies and <i>Kung Fu Panda</i>, I mostly just liked and enjoyed their output without really loving it. Little did I know that <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> would turn me around on that.<br />
The second time I saw the movie was a couple weeks later, on a Saturday afternoon while I was visiting around Toronto. This time I got to see the movie in IMAX 3D. I had already been surprised and exhilarated by my first viewing, and was anxious to see it again while it was still in IMAX (<i>Iron Man 2</i> would be taking those screens the following week). Needless to say this was the best I ever experienced the movie, and the viewing that effectively wowed me on a whole other level. All the scale, all the incredible flight sequences, the immersive and awe-inspiring 3D (still among the best I've ever seen), all of it felt that much bigger to the point where it practically transported you into the film's world. There was a solid-sized crowd in attendance for that showing, and it was wholly palpable just how collectively engaged and thrilled everyone was by what they were experiencing- everyone actually stood up and applauded when the end credits started. For that to happen at, say, a film festival premiere or maybe a very excited (and fanbase-heavy) advance screening is one thing- those tend to be played up as big events, ones where the audience is pumped for the movie ahead of time and applause or cheering is often expected (or at least desired). But this was just an everyday Saturday afternoon screening of a film that had already been widely playing for five weeks. This sort of thing <b>never</b> happens when I go to see movies.<br />
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This experience is emblematic of the effect that <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> has on people, the energy, charm and sense of wonder that turns many (myself included) into obsessed and excitable fanboys/girls. Every element of this film is executed in an exceptional and wholly engaging manner: the story, the characters, the animation, the music, the action, the humour, the pacing... the list could very well go on. The amazing 3D certainly helped too, immersing the viewer into the film's world and even enhancing the visual storytelling- seeing Hiccup's hand subtly poke out in 3D as it reaches for Toothless really makes one feel all the more like they're seeing it from the dragon's perspective. And the flying sequences? A whole other level of breathtaking.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pictured: The kind of movie moment that goes beyond merely memorable...</span></td></tr>
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The cast is filled with lovable characters, be they the feisty and competitive Astrid (America Ferrera), the nerdy stats-obsessed Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) or the eccentric peg-legged mentor and blacksmith Gobber (Craig Ferguson), who teaches the viking teens in their dragon training. However, they mostly remain explicitly side characters, allowing the film to keep things focused squarely on its core story about Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup is a fantastic protagonist character, a gangly kid who simply doesn't fit in, wanting to prove his worth to a father and a village who doesn't really think the same way he does. Hiccup's also got a real passion for exploring, building and invention, which unfortunately doesn't seem to have much use to battle-obsessed vikings. He's braver than he knows and has a good-natured, compassionate soul (even if it's mixed with a healthy does of the sardonic and sarcastic). Jay Baruchel's distinctive nasally voice almost seems like a terrible idea on paper (and sure, I can see why some people may find it kind of annoying), it ends up fitting the character perfectly. Any more generic teen-sounding actor would have just made the character sound like some bland typical hero archetype, which isn't what Hiccup is at all- he's a builder and a misfit, a unique voice among a society that doesn't really accommodate uniqueness. The fact that he stands out is crucial to his character, particularly in how it plays into his friendship with Toothless. Toothless is as much a distinct character in his own right, proving he's more than just some mindless beast without ever saying a word. He can shift from fearsome and intimidating to cuddly and adorable on a dime in a manner all his own, quickly becoming the kind of animal companion anyone might wish they had. He's a true reflection of Hiccup, driven by curiosity and his own particular attitude (he's definitely smarter than your average dragon). He's a soul that feels trapped and alone, one who never quite fits in with the rest of his kind, not surprising seeing how he's a very rare species who's possibly the last of his kind. As they become friends Hiccup and Toothless awaken in one another a sense of just what they're really capable of, and the amazing things they can accomplish.<br />
The ending scene where Hiccup wakes up to find he's lost his leg is a scene that catches many by surprise, and not just because it's the sort of dark, emotionally somber note of lingering consequences that's completely unexpected from an animated film aimed at families. It also completes the arc of Hiccup and Toothless' friendship in a powerful (and almost entirely visual-driven) way. As we see Toothless' tail sweep by the frame while he helps Hiccup walk, it becomes clear how the two are forever bonded now, not only wanting but needing each other's support to feel truly whole. They're both virtuous and capable of much on their own, but only together as one can they truly soar.<br />
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While Jay Baruchel's Hiccup is the heart and soul of <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i>, the best performance of the movie belongs to Gerard Butler as Hiccup's chieftain father Stoick the Vast. Rather than making the character some cartoonish villain (which would have been incredibly easy to do, and absolutely would have happened in the hands of lesser filmmakers), Stoick feels like a truly human and identifiable character who is merely doing what he has been raised like so many other generations of vikings to do: kill dragons. He struggles to raise his son and deal with the trouble he often causes for him and the village, wanting to be proud of him but finding himself unable to really stand up for or connect with a son who's just different from everyone else and will never be like other vikings even as Hiccup tries to win approval. Butler gives a performance here well beyond much of his mostly one-dimensional live-action output (though that's more the fault of the kinds of thinly characterized action hero roles he's often given), commanding and stubborn yet also rife with underlying insecurities and uncertainty. This is best shown in his scenes with Gobber, his best friend and confidante, where we see how he loves and cares for his son despite his frustrations, but he just feels lost as what to do with him. When Stoick does the whole "you're not my son" moment, it's different from all the over-exaggerated versions of this same scene that have been done before because we know it absolutely kills him inside to say such a thing. The look he gives after slamming that door isn't one of blind, prejudice-driven anger, but one of genuine heartbreak. It's written all over his face what the one thought in his head is right now: "what have I done?"<br />
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If DreamWorks has proven their mettle in competition with Disney/Pixar in any area, it's undoubtedly in the animation itself. They've made several fantastic-looking movies since they started out 20 years ago, but <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> set a whole new gold standard, one which has kept encouraging their animators to up their game ever since. The level of detail is still astounding, whether it be all the hairs of Stoick's beard, Toothless' many black scales, or the etchings in Hiccup's notebooks. The true masterstroke however was hiring legendary cinematographer (and regular Coen Brothers collaborator) Roger Deakins to act as a visual consultant for the film. Having previously consulted on Pixar's <i>Wall-E</i>, Deakins' contribution here lends the film something that many animated films lack: a cinematic sense of lighting. It's easy to make an animated film bright and colourful and oh-so-marketably cartoony. But the use of lighting can make a huge difference in how immersive and eye-catching your movie can be, giving animation more of a live-action look and feel (thus lending an extra little "wow" factor when the story centres around fantastical creatures like dragons). It particularly adds to the film's environments, to the point where they look almost photorealistic: the shimmering waters of the ocean, the mossy pit where Hiccup and Toothless get to know one another, the tall cliffs protruding around the island of Berk during the first test flight. Even in smaller moments the lighting adds immensely, whether we see sunlight on Astrid as she sharpens her axe or the light of a lantern as Hiccup flips through the Book of Dragons. Since then the studio has regularly hired live-action cinematographers as visual consultants for their projects, and Deakins has consulted on several other DreamWorks films, such as <i>Rise of the Guardians</i>, <i>The Croods</i>, and of course <i>How to Train Your Dragon 2</i>.<br />
If Deakins' and the animators provide the dazzle and awe, then composer John Powell offers the emotional sweep of the film with one of the best orchestral scores in recent memory. Imbued with a heavy Celtic influence and using instruments like the fiddle, bagpipes, penny whistle and harpsichord, the music created for <i>Dragon</i> perfectly reflects the emotion and action of every scene. Just listening to the score is like watching the film in my head, captivating even without the visuals to accompany it. Whereas most film scores have a bunch of filler to keep you busy while you wait for the few memorable good tracks, Powell's score for <i>Dragon</i> has no such filler: it's the kind of soundtrack you listen to from beginning to end. Not that there aren't a few particular standouts, with the pick for the best often being a three-horse (or dragon) race between <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjgpMXbjPjI" target="_blank">"Forbidden Friendship"</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf-EcBmbMuI" target="_blank">"Test Flight"</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMmKARSV0VE" target="_blank">"Romantic Flight"</a>. The score was widely praised by many upon the film's release (it even got an Oscar nomination!), and remains a beautiful, captivating listen.<br />
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For what feels like the longest time I've had trouble really figuring out and articulating just what it is about <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> that continues to stick with me, what made me fall so unabashedly in love with this movie to a degree that not many others have reached. I know there <b>are</b> objectively better movies out there- heck, there were even a few objectively better movies back in 2010 when <i>Dragon</i> came out (I still hold firm that the best film that year was <i>The Social Network</i>, and I <b>definitely</b> hold firm that it should have won the Best Picture Oscar instead of <i>The King's Speech</i>). But something always stood out about <i>Dragon</i>, and I think I know what it is now: it makes you <u><b>feel</b></u>. Every emotion the characters feel, every sight and expression of awe or wonder feels honest, palpable and wholly genuine. It's the very thing that film can be best at, and <i>Dragon</i> doesn't pad or waste a second of running time in its drive to unfold a captivating and immensely heartfelt narrative. On the darkest days, when all that seems to be left of the medium is mindless, shallow or soulless rehashes and product, <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> is the kind of film that reminds me of my passion and devotion to an amazing, powerful and wondrous art form.<br />
It makes me say "this is why I love the movies".<br />
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Thanks for reading through all my gushing and rambling, everyone! Have a great Canada Day/Independence Day holiday!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-37901582184103999072014-06-20T23:18:00.003-07:002014-06-24T19:00:48.942-07:00<h2>
<u><i>How to Train Your Dragon 2</i> Review: Bigger, Bolder, and (Possibly) Even Better</u></h2>
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<b>By Andrew Braid</b></h3>
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<b>Written and Directed by Dean DeBlois</b></div>
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<b>Starring: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Cate Blanchett, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Kit Harington, Djimon Hounsou, Jonah Hill, Christopher-Mintz Plasse, Kristen Wiig, T.J. Miller</b></div>
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<b>Release Date: June 13, 2014</b></div>
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<b>Presented in 2D and 3D</b></div>
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I've made it absolutely no secret to anyone that I loved <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i>. Hell, "loved" definitely doesn't feel like a strong enough word- think "adored" or "obsessed with" (that's two words, but still). Despite its simple, well-worn "boy and his _____" tale (in this case about a dragon rather than a dog, alien or giant robot), <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> dazzled audiences with its spectacular 3D action and captured their hearts with its memorable characters and touching emotional story. This was more than just some kidpic timekiller to keep the young 'uns at bay for an hour and a half- it was genuine movie magic. </div>
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So unlike the original film that no one expected much of anything from at the time when it was released four years ago, <i>How to Train Your Dragon 2 </i>faces the burden of having to clear a much higher bar with audiences. I more than anyone wouldn't let just any pretty-looking follow-up get by with a free pass. The first film was truly something special, and a real sequel would have to follow suit, especially when it's planned to be the middle chapter of a trilogy (the third film is set to open in June 2016). Thankfully <i>How to Train Your Dragon 2</i> is anything but a play-it-safe rehash or a failed attempt to recapture the glory of its predecessor. </div>
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Rest easy, fans of the first film: lightning <b>can</b> be caught in a bottle twice, and <i>Dragon 2</i> proves it.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hiccup and Toothless encounter the fearsome Dragon Rider...</span></td></tr>
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Set five years after the events of the first film, <i>How to Train Your Dragon 2</i> finds the island village of Berk as it's become a paradise of harmony between vikings and dragons. But while his friends race dragons in quidditch-esque games back home (substituting sheep for quaffles), 20-year old Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is flying through the clouds with his dragon (and best friend) Toothless, exploring and mapping out uncharted lands. While his father Stoick (Gerard Butler) wants him to assume his role as chief of the village, Hiccup feels uncertain and unwilling to take on such responsibilities despite his insistence or the encouragement of his warrior girlfriend Astrid (America Ferrera). Soon though Hiccup finds himself ambushed by a mysterious dragon rider who turns out to be Hiccup's long-thought dead mother Valka (Cate Blanchett). Having lived among the dragons in a hidden sanctuary, Valka makes up for a lot of lost time with her grown-up son, as it turns out that Hiccup shares a lot more in common with her than his stubborn-yet loving viking father. Big trouble brews however in the approach of a massive army led by dragon-conquering warlord Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou), whose belief in subjugation over harmony with dragons threatens the peace that Hiccup has worked so hard for.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Turns out Hiccup's family has a lot of catching up to do...</span></td></tr>
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From the moment we're aware that 5 years have passed and our cast of viking teens is all grown up, <i>How to Train Your Dragon 2</i> lets us know that this isn't your ordinary "just another fun adventure" kind of sequel. While it carries over and even enhances many of the first film's charms, it firmly establishes that this is a true follow-up and continuation of the original's story, plotting a very different course in the process. In contrast to the first film's tale about overcoming prejudice and the bond between a boy and his pet friend, the second film is namely a coming-of-age tale for Hiccup, as he makes those precarious final steps towards full-fledged adulthood. Revelations unfold through Hiccup's reunion with the mother he never really knew, as he comes to realize just how much his parents have influenced him and who he is. He sees what he's inherited from both his father and his mother, yet strives to show what makes him unique- namely his sense of optimism and conviction that people are capable of change. This proves a double-edged sword for intelligent young Hiccup: on one hand he has a valid point that he has and can change people's minds (like he did with his father and the rest of Berk in the first film). On the other hand though it's a conviction that unfortunately proves somewhat naive- men like Drago Bludvist will simply refuse to change their minds no matter how well Hiccup debates with them, and as a result sometimes war and conflict are inevitable. Even more so than the first film actions can have serious consequences, and by the end of the film these consequences shape Hiccup into what kind of man he'll be.</div>
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Writer/Director Dean DeBlois (now flying solo after co-writing/directing the first film with Chris Sanders) has stated in several interviews that his primary inspiration for <i>Dragon 2</i> was <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>, and the influence is very much evident: this is a decidedly darker, deeper film than the original, one that takes its family-friendly PG rating about as far it can go. Gone is the simpler, more familiar and comfortably predictable narrative of the first film; here we get the rare case of an animated feature where one honestly isn't sure how everything is going to end up. The action is more intense, the stakes are higher, and Hiccup suffers much more than a lost leg this time around (including one plot turn in particular that's destined to be a tearjerker on par with <i>The Lion King</i> and <i>The Iron Giant</i>). However, don't be fooled into thinking that the series has lost its sense of humour- in fact, <i>Dragon 2</i> is actually even funnier than the first film (much like <i>Empire</i> had sharper laughs than the original <i>Star Wars</i>). Whether it's playful dragon interactions or brow-raised side remarks from Gobber (Craig Ferguson), the film is filled with charming laughs throughout (with one running joke in particular that's just too good to spoil- all I'll say is it left the whole theatre in stitches). Fortunately the film keeps a precise balance in its tone, so its pieces of humour don't ever risk overshadowing or undermining any crucial emotional beats. The result is a film with perfectly-tuned pacing that's neither slow nor hurried, one that feels supremely assured and confident that it won't take a wrong step.</div>
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The returning cast of characters are both much very much like we remember them and significantly different, and the actors voicing them follow suit with their performances. Jay Baruchel's Hiccup is still his lovable good-natured self, but he also shows signs of the maturity preparing to break out as he struggles with finding his own sense of identity. His relationship with Astrid is loving and easygoing, clearly at the point where they know each other's tricks and mannerisms all too well (an early scene where he and Astrid recreate a talk with Hiccup's father proves particularly clever and comical). Local jock Snotlout (Jonah Hill) and nerdy Fishlegs (Christopher-Mintz Plasse) are much the same, but their hormonal urges have led them both to vie for the affections of fellow dragon rider Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig), much to her disdain. Hiccup's father Stoick, once sworn enemy of dragons everywhere, has grown to love these amazing creatures, and couldn't be more proud of his son (that doesn't mean he's much better at listening to him though). Only peg-legged mentor Gobber seems to be about the same as always (though it amusingly turns out there's a few details we didn't know about him before). </div>
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And then there's Hiccup's mother Valka, who proves a great character in her own right. A Diane Fossey for dragons, she knows all of their secrets, and has much she can pass down to her son. Blanchett's voice is a perfect fit, lending the character equal parts proud wisdom, quirky isolation and stern defiance. Two of the film's biggest standout scenes involve the reunion of Valka and Stoick, heartwarmingly beautiful yet with an edge of more mature adult romance not often seen in animated family fare (this also once again proves to be Gerard Butler's best work, proving what he can do when he gets to play more than just some thinly-characterized action hero). Also joining the cast this time around is <i>Game of Thrones</i>' Kit Harington as suave dragon trapper Eret ("Son of Eret") and Djimon Hounsou as the villainous Drago, a twisted and menacing dark side reflection of Hiccup's peaceful idealism. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The ice-breathing Bewilderbeast was always great at playing "peekaboo"...</span></td></tr>
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DreamWorks Animation has outdone itself with <i>Dragon 2</i>, bringing Hiccup's new story to life through arrestingly-beautiful animation that even puts the stunning first <i>Dragon</i> film to shame. Everything is immensely detailed: every environment brimming with atmosphere, every character distinctly realized and astoundingly expressive in ways both subtle and exaggerated. Legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins' returns as a visual consultant for the film, and his influence is immediately felt in the wondrously cinematic look of the film, whether it's the way sunlight glistens on a character's hair or as dragon fire sets the stage in an ominous cave. Also returning after great success with the first film is composer John Powell, whose orchestral score once again proves an amazing listen even when separated from the movie it so perfectly synchs with. Whether the scene is sweeping, romantic, tragic or lighthearted, Powell captures every emotion note for note with deft skill. </div>
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The first film was also famous for its exhilarating use of 3D, and <i>Dragon 2</i> follows suit with aplomb. More "pop-out" moments are fewer and more subdued this time around, in favour of creating a sense of immense depth in the film's wondrous skies and locales. Every scene feels like you're being sucked into the fantastic animated world in front of you, and every trip on the back of a dragon gives a sensation of soaring right along with the characters. It honestly goes without saying that if you can see the film in 3D, then you should absolutely make it a priority to do so.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The flying sequences that made the first one such a huge hit are back with a vengeance here, and the 3D makes them a must-see experience.</span></td></tr>
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There's not many other ways I can put it: <i>How to Train Your Dragon 2</i> is absolutely spectacular. Not only is it among the most elite examples of how to make a truly great sequel, but it proves to be a thrilling and hugely emotional adventure movie in its own right. It's equal parts awe-inspiring, hilarious and deeply resonant, and is an undisputed frontrunner for best movie of the summer (and who knows, possibly the whole year). It's the kind of film that doesn't just <b>demand</b> the big screen experience, but actually <b>deserves</b> it too (the <i>Transformers</i> movies can demand the big screen experience all they want, that doesn't mean they actually deserve it on any non-visual level). Just like its adored predecessor, it's the kind of film that can be loved and enjoyed by anyone, young or old, bound to dazzle any viewer looking to see what true movie magic looks like.</div>
<div>
Then again, there's <u>soooo</u> many other great movies you can take the kids to this summer instead...</div>
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<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://byt.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/How-to-Train-Your-Dragon-2-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://byt.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/How-to-Train-Your-Dragon-2-1.png" height="272" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Skeptical Toothless is skeptical about that last line...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<h3>
<b>Final Score: 10 / 10</b></h3>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b><u>Pros:</u></b></div>
<div>
<b>+ A darker, richer and bolder story that expands on the first film in wonderful, emotional, and even surprising ways</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ The action and flying sequences seriously step up their game while retaining their thrilling sense of adventure and wonder</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ Even funnier than the first film, yet balanced out expertly so the humour never undermines or overshadows the dramatic story beats</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ The astoundingly beautiful animation is matched by spectacular 3D, demanding to be seen on the big screen</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ Fantastic performances from the entire voice cast, with Baruchel, Blanchett and Butler proving particular standouts</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ John Powell's score is just as amazing as his Oscar-nominated work on the first film</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b><u>Cons:</u></b></div>
<div>
<b>- We'll have to wait 2 more years for the third movie...</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-45434894960228848872014-06-18T14:26:00.002-07:002014-06-18T14:26:11.656-07:00<h2>
<u><i>A Million Ways to Die in the West </i>Review: The Only Thing Dying Here is Comedy</u></h2>
<h3>
By Andrew Braid</h3>
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<a href="http://static.squarespace.com/static/51b3dc8ee4b051b96ceb10de/t/530f899ce4b0a39dbd7c0693/1393527198108/poster-for-a-million-ways-to-die-in-the-west.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://static.squarespace.com/static/51b3dc8ee4b051b96ceb10de/t/530f899ce4b0a39dbd7c0693/1393527198108/poster-for-a-million-ways-to-die-in-the-west.jpg" height="640" width="430" /></a></div>
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<b>Directed by Seth MacFarlane</b></div>
<div>
<b>Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Sarah Silverman, Giovanni Ribisi, Liam Neeson, Neil Patrick Harris, Amanda Seyfried</b></div>
<div>
<b>Release Date: May 30, 2014</b></div>
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<div>
Before you jump to any wrong conclusions, let me get this out of the way: I like Seth MacFarlane. I honestly do. I grew up loving<i> Family Guy</i>, and <i>American Dad</i> gradually proved over time to be even better. And while it probably won't stand the test of time I also really liked <i>Ted</i>, MacFarlane's debut in the world of feature-length filmmaking. It's also very evident from interviews and pieces with the guy that MacFarlane is also a very smart, business-savvy guy, whose huge success came out of his canny ability to tap into what could broadly appeal to mass audiences while including his own satirical or absurdist sensibilities. </div>
<div>
But it's also become apparent that MacFarlane also has somewhat of an ego, and when that ego decides to make passion projects, they end up being less for the enjoyment of audiences and more for himself because he just kinda felt like doing that this week (for a good example, look no further than the infamously interminable <i>Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show- </i>yeah, wasn't expecting me to bring <u>that</u> up, were you?*). That's unfortunately what we end up having here with his second feature film, <i>A Million Ways to Die in the West</i>, a homage to westerns that's also a comedy, apparently. You'd be hard-pressed to tell that though, considering how much dead silence was in the theatre when I saw it.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.soundonsight.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/million-ways-fix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.soundonsight.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/million-ways-fix.jpg" height="241" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wow Seth, you <b>really</b> weren't prepared to read the reviews for this, were you? </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div>
Seth MacFarlane (his character's name is Albert, but let's not mince words here- calling him a "character" is being generous) is a smarter-than-thou yet cowardly sheep farmer who gets dumped by his girlfriend Louise (Amanda Seyfried) for local moustache enthusiast Foy (Neil Patrick Harris, whose talents couldn't possibly be more wasted here unless the movie had the word "Smurfs" in the title). Enter Anna (Charlize Theron), a beautiful gunslinger laying low in Albert's hometown who agrees to teach Albert how to shoot and stand up for himself so he can challenge Foy to pistols at dawn and win back Louise. But feelings begin to form between these new friends, and Albert begins doubting whether Louise is really right for him in the first pl-</div>
<div>
...You know what, do you actually care? Because I sure as hell didn't. The film focuses way too much of its bloated 116 minute running time on this stupid, cliched love triangle that the film plays mostly straight and genuinely expects us to get invested in. While Theron gives it her all and even manages to find occasional sparks of chemistry with MacFarlane, it doesn't change how rote and tiresomely predictable the whole thing is. In fact, Theron, like much of the talented supporting cast (including Sarah Silverman, Giovanni Ribisi and Liam Neeson), ends up getting sidelined at many an opportunity for Seth MacFarlane to take centre stage and mug at the camera for laughs that almost never occur. Everyone feels like they were mostly just hired to stand there and watch MacFarlane riff on his soapbox, a soapbox which his other work at least concealed under Macfarlane playing some kind of wacky, self-deprecating or bizarre character (Brian and Stewie on <i>Family Guy</i>, Ted, etc.). Here it never feels like he's playing any kind of actual character, which makes all his incessant mugging that much harder to tolerate. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/i/2014/05/07/A-MILLION-WAYS-TO-DIE-WEST.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/i/2014/05/07/A-MILLION-WAYS-TO-DIE-WEST.jpg" height="247" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Look at this face and honestly tell me you don't want to punch it right now. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That the film plays so much of itself straight simply doesn't end up fitting with MacFarlane's comedic sensibilities, and in the process the variety of actual humour on display becomes severely limited. <i>Ted</i> succeeded because it mixed genuine heart (and MacFarlane playing a real character) with a variety of absurd gags, cutaways and bizarre pop culture references. Sure they had some gross-out gags and sex jokes too, but they didn't take over the whole movie. By contrast, <i>A Million Ways to Die in the West</i> boils down to about 3 kinds of jokes repeated with slight variations ad nauseum:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Joke #1: "Gee, living in the Old West sure does suck!"</div>
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Joke #2: "Gee, the Old West sure was racist/sexist/etc.!"</div>
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Joke #3: "Look, piss/poop gags!"</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Mix in some cheap sex jokes and the aforementioned crappy love triangle, then tie it in a bow with a surprising level of technical competence and production value (that's completely wasted on a film this tiringly unfunny) and you've basically got the whole movie right there. </div>
<div>
I really don't think there's much else to say here, honestly. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the only question that's important when talking about a comedy is this: "Is it funny?" And in the case of <i>A Million Ways </i>my answer is a resounding no, regardless of whether you're a <i>Family Guy</i> fan or not.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.apnatimepass.com/a-million-ways-to-die-in-the-west-movie/a-million-ways-to-die-in-the-west-movie-poster-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.apnatimepass.com/a-million-ways-to-die-in-the-west-movie/a-million-ways-to-die-in-the-west-movie-poster-13.jpg" height="220" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pictured: Amanda Seyfried, in a rare moment of genuinely contemplating her life choices.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I feel like I've gotten relatively lucky with movies so far this year. Sure, there's been many movies that are just average (<i>About Last Night, Million Dollar Arm</i>), or mixed bags (the <i>Robocop</i> remake, <i>Maleficent</i>- more on that in a bit), and even ones that are downright mediocre (<i>Rio 2</i>, <i>Divergent</i>). But most of these movies still have <b>some</b> stuff that's interesting or salvageable enough to make them watchable, or at the very least generally tolerable. But <i>A Million Ways to Die in the West</i> has none of these things. It's a failed vanity project through and through from a man we know is capable of better, an uninspired and awkward stab at comedy that only accomplishes wasting 2 hours of your life. It honestly makes me look back a lot more fondly on MacFarlane's Oscar hosting gig a few years back- at least there he told more than 3 kinds of jokes.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.contactmusic.com/images/feature-images/million-ways-to-die-in-the-west-seth-macfarlane-02-636-380.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://images.contactmusic.com/images/feature-images/million-ways-to-die-in-the-west-seth-macfarlane-02-636-380.jpg" height="238" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"I'll just hide here until <i>Ted 2</i> comes out..."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
<b>Final Score: 3 / 10</b></h3>
<div>
<b><u>Pros:</u></b></div>
<div>
<b>+ Well made on a technical level (direction, production design, music, etc.)</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ Two of the cameos are amusing</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ A few laughs <i>do</i> occasionally eke out...</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b><u>Cons:</u></b></div>
<div>
<b>- ...But it's not enough to make up for the dozens of other bits that fall completely flat</b></div>
<div>
<b>- The film plays too much of itself straight, critically lacking in MacFarlane's trademark absurdity</b></div>
<div>
<b>- A great supporting cast is mostly wasted in order to let MacFarlane take centre stage</b></div>
<div>
<b>- MacFarlane simply cannot carry a film entirely on his own</b></div>
<div>
<b>- Trite, predictable love triangle plot</b></div>
<div>
<b>- Needlessly drags on for almost 2 hours</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
*: Especially considering that I was one of the 12 people that actually watched it</div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-13122336361549894732014-05-29T11:31:00.000-07:002014-05-29T11:37:30.629-07:00<h2>
<u><em>Only Lovers Left Alive</em> Review: The Romantic Entanglement of Vampiric Hipsters</u></h2>
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<span style="color: #444444;">By </span><a href="http://letterboxd.com/ben_macdonald/">Ben Macdonald</a></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDmXMbxGj9PF4KTuaJ61dfTlWOdpCyHzynBT76eRUmB2e9ZEESwo1-LuolfqfEpPU5VkToJErBe4n_RteUsInks-LPN498slgWxDEcnBMDVjbgvxFcnx-g4FaJm4ZyssU8F3KFwwN4Sc/s1600/only_lovers_left_alive_ver7_xlg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDmXMbxGj9PF4KTuaJ61dfTlWOdpCyHzynBT76eRUmB2e9ZEESwo1-LuolfqfEpPU5VkToJErBe4n_RteUsInks-LPN498slgWxDEcnBMDVjbgvxFcnx-g4FaJm4ZyssU8F3KFwwN4Sc/s1600/only_lovers_left_alive_ver7_xlg.jpg" height="640" width="432" /></a></div>
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<strong>Directed by Jim Jarmusch</strong><br />
<strong>Starring Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleson, Anton Yelchin, Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt, Jeffery Wright</strong><br />
<strong>Release Date: April 25, 2014 (limited)</strong><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>Only Lovers Left Alive</em> begins with a series of rotating overhead shots
cutting back and forth between its protagonists, Adam (Hiddleson) and Eve
(Swinton). The characters are on opposite sides of the world (one lives in
Detroit, the other in Tangier) but the shot links the two together. The
significance of these shots is revealed near the end of the film, when Adam
explains to Eve the phenomenon in physics known as entanglement. Entanglement,
which Einstein called “spooky action at a distance”, means that if an entwined
particle is separated, even to opposite ends of the universe, and you spin one
of them, then the other one will also immediately start spinning. This also
explains the characters’ names, as the biblical Eve was created from one of Adam’s
ribs, suggesting a similar state of entanglement. Despite their distance at the
film’s beginning, the two characters have been married for centuries and are
said to be unable to live without each other. Eve eventually rejoins Adam in
Detroit where their blood, sex and rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle goes uninterrupted
until Eve’s sister Ava shows up. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As is to be expected with a Jarmush picture, <em>Only Lovers</em> is not
particularly story-driven and resists generic convention. Though it is a
vampire movie, it’s less interested in the taste of blood and more interested
in cultural taste. Several centuries spent on the Earth has served to refine
the aesthetic sensibilities of the main characters. The characters, and by
extension the director/writer, display their musical eclecticism throughout the
film. Adam and Eve sway to the rockabilly of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX3UEGFrINI">Charlie Feathers</a> and dance
together to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7qvvJWkUXk">Denise LaSalle’s 'Trapped By a Thing Called Love'</a> and Adam is equally
adept at producing experimental rock with one of his many vintage guitars as he
is with a violin or lute. Shout outs to Iggy Pop and Jack White, both of whom
have acted in other Jarmusch films, indicate that it’s the director’s taste
that inform his characters. It is Jarmush’s own band that contributes much of
the film’s original score, a moody mix of Eastern-sounding music and distorted
guitar. It also bears mentioning that the cinematography, writing and
performances all come together perfectly to create a hilarious, fun and
impeccably cool movie.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BeN2L4ukBdL9gI1Iayn6TeePWF_E5uFsfMoOg1VTdvZnWf3-24x5BES4-3mpgftDRTB_cA1iLTg1IuOHdtK5TZQ6IIm_cMmtW4_THiaLaKksKvYSbkvFzNDlWx2Y7ubwqveccZgqcH4/s1600/onlylovers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BeN2L4ukBdL9gI1Iayn6TeePWF_E5uFsfMoOg1VTdvZnWf3-24x5BES4-3mpgftDRTB_cA1iLTg1IuOHdtK5TZQ6IIm_cMmtW4_THiaLaKksKvYSbkvFzNDlWx2Y7ubwqveccZgqcH4/s1600/onlylovers.jpg" height="262" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ultimately, <em>Only Lovers</em> is a film more about a pair of hipsters than of
vampires. Their blood supply is accessed through doctors, seemingly less for
moral reasons and more because feeding on innocent victims has become passé. Adam
and Eve dress in vintage (even ancient) clothing, wear sunglasses at nighttime
and indoors and listen to vinyl records. They dig the underappreciated artists
instead of the bigger names: Keaton not Chaplin, Tesla not Edison, Marlowe not
that “illiterate philistine” Shakespeare. Adam is so opposed to fame that he
fears his reclusiveness will counter-productively lead to building a mystique
making his music popular with the uncool humans he calls “zombies”.</span> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Adam and Eve may be living in a time of iPhones and Youtube, but as
undying hipsters they have an appreciation for the past. Adam chooses to live in
a ramshackle house in Detroit, a city living in the shadow of its former glory,
as opposed to the shiny, inauthentic Los Angeles which he refers to as
“zombie-central”. Eve, on the other hand, has the magic touch. She can rapidly
read her collection of classic literature (from Cervantes to David Foster
Wallace) by passing her hand over each page and can tell the age of an object simply
by touching it. <em>Only Lovers Left Alive</em> connects the past with the present, high
art with pop art and enthusiasm with cynicism. No doubt the vast number of
allusions in the film will mean different things to different viewers depending
on their own cultural touchstones but it is important to note that the
references never exist solely for their own sake. The details all <span style="font-family: inherit;">coalesce as a
bigger picture of the cycles of history, the depth and reach of culture, its preservation,
its decay and its evolution</span>.</span> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09716665349443003243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-12837207149025707992014-05-26T00:08:00.001-07:002014-05-26T00:08:16.186-07:00<h2>
<u>S. Nerfherder Presents: The Top 10 Best Comic Book Movies of All Time</u></h2>
<h3>
By Andrew Braid</h3>
<div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/x_men_days_of_future_past_banner-wide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/x_men_days_of_future_past_banner-wide.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></div>
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Ever since the launch of the original <i>X-Men</i> in 2000, comic book movies have slowly but surely overtaken the pop culture landscape, breaking box office records and reshaping the whole industry as we know it. Now they're the safest bets Hollywood can make in a marketplace increasingly lacking in "safe bets". In conjunction with the opening of the latest instalment of the X-Men franchise, <i>X-Men: Days of Future Past</i> (which is awesome, BTW), I figured now's as good a time as any to take my own stab at narrowing down the cream of the ever-growing crop. Seeing just how many new movies seem to be pulling out the "best superhero movie ever" quote in their advertising (<i>Days of Future Past</i> included), I think it's about time to sort out which movies truly deserve such hyperbolic proclamations.<br />
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<div>
Before we begin, some notes/disclaimers:</div>
<div>
-This list is strictly limited to live-action, theatrically-released films based on either a comic book series or graphic novel (animated comic book movies warrant their own Top 10 in the future- there's plenty of good ones to go around)</div>
<div>
-While there is no "one movie per series" rule, I have tried to make the list somewhat diverse anyway (as awesome as Batman is, the list would look kinda boring if he took up half the spots).</div>
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-This list (of course) only covers films that have come out so far, and I will be more than happy to update this post in the future for any upcoming comic book movies that prove worthy of a spot.</div>
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-And finally, this is all just my own personal opinion. Feel free to let me know what your favourites are if you like (there's so many other good movies that didn't get a spot here- makes me feel guilty)</div>
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Leading into the list, here is my list of <b><u>Honourable Mentions:</u></b></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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<b><i>Superman II</i> [The Richard Donner Cut] (1981)</b></div>
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<b><i>Batman </i>(1989, Dir. Tim Burton)</b></div>
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<b><i>Batman Returns</i> (1992, Dir. Tim Burton)</b></div>
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<b><i>Ghost World </i>(2001, Dir. Terry Zwigoff)</b></div>
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<b><i>X2: X-Men United</i> (2003, Dir. Bryan Singer)</b></div>
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<b><i>Sin City</i> (2005, Dir. Rober Rodriguez and Frank Miller)</b><br />
<b><i>Batman Begins</i> (2005, Dir. Christopher Nolan)</b></div>
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<b><i>V for Vendetta</i> (2006, Dir. James McTeague)</b></div>
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<b><i>Superman Returns</i> (2006, Dir. Bryan Singer)</b></div>
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<b><i>Hellboy II: The Golden Army</i> (2008, Dir. Guillermo Del Toro)</b></div>
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<b><i>Watchmen </i>(2009, Dir. Zack Snyder)</b></div>
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<b><i>X-Men: First Class</i> (2011, Dir. Matthew Vaughn)</b></div>
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<b><i>Captain America: The First Avenger</i> (2011, Dir. Joe Johnston)</b></div>
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<b><i>Iron Man 3 </i>(2013, Dir. Shane Black)</b></div>
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<b><i>X-Men: Days of Future Past</i> (2014, Dir. Bryan Singer) [Seriously, it's awesome, go see it]</b></div>
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And now, the <b>Top 10 Best Comic Book Movies of All Time</b>, starting with...</div>
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<b><u>#10: <i>Captain America: The Winter Soldier</i></u></b></h4>
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<b>(2014, Directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo)</b></h4>
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If there's one character in their stable that Marvel has proven they understand more than any other, it's Captain America. After a rollicking retro origin story in <i>Captain America: The First Avenger</i>, <i>Winter Soldier </i>shows Steve Rogers' struggle to adapt to the modern world- a man displaced from time, a veteran displaced from war, uncertain of what his duty as a soldier even means anymore. However, just as Phil Coulson said once, it turns out people just might need a little old-fashioned. <i>Winter Soldier</i> does damn near everything right, smoothly transitioning from the first film's period adventure into a paranoia-laden action-thriller where no one can seem to be trusted and security is valued over freedom. The pacing is perfect, knowing exactly how to juggle all its characters so no one feels superfluous or under-utilized. The humour is spot-on, keeping things fun despite the heavier subject matter without overtaking the film. The Winter Soldier himself is cold and imposing, showing an utter relentlessness akin to a Terminator. The action scenes are terrific, carrying a real sense of hard-hitting impact whether its fistfights, shootouts, or chases (the two big faceoffs between Cap and Winter Soldier in particular burst with a flurry of tension and intensity). The twists and ramifications for the future of the Marvel Studios universe moving forward are huge, and yet they don't distract from the film's ability to stand on its own. It's the current gold standard for Marvel's solo movies to date, positioning Captain America as <b>the</b> optimistic, hopeful, example-setting hero of the big screen in a time where the world could really use one (it helps that he doesn't destroy half of Metropolis in the process).<br />
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<u>#9: <i>A History of Violence </i></u><br />(2005, Directed by David Cronenberg)</h4>
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Believe it or not, but this intense, powerful and surprisingly thoughtful thriller from David Cronenberg (<i>Videodrome</i>, <i>Scanners</i>, <i>The Fly</i>) was actually an adaptation of a graphic novel published by DC Comics (through their "mature readers" Vertigo imprint). Viggo Mortensen gives one of his best performances here as Tom Stall, a small town restaurant owner and family man who may or may not have had a violent past as a gangster in Philadelphia. Tom denies these accusations from a scarred gangster (played by a memorable and chilling Ed Harris) to his wife and children, but as tensions rise it becomes apparent that there may be more to Tom than he's telling anyone, and that violence may just be in his nature no matter how hard he denies it. The film builds to a thrilling climax and perhaps one of the most perfect final scenes I've ever seen. A lot of you may not have seen it, so I'll avoid saying much more, but out of Cronenberg's huge body of work one could easily argue for this being the best film he's ever made.</div>
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<u>#8: <i>Scott Pilgrim vs. the World</i></u><br />(2010, Directed by Edgar Wright)</h4>
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As we mourn the departure of Edgar Wright from Marvel's <i>Ant Man</i>, we can at least console ourselves by watching his first stab at making a comic book movie, the near-perfect film adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's <i>Scott Pilgrim</i> series. While some changes and concessions have to be made to condense the six-volume comics series into a 2-hour film, the spirit (and even much of the hilarious dialogue) of the comics is preserved, yet also injected with some fresh material of its own (my favourite being <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiiXvE3l8x0" target="_blank">this bit, obviously</a>). Michael Cera gives his best performance here, as his one-note "awkward nice guy" routine hides the jerkier aspects of Scott, making his rise to grow up and mature at the end all the more effective. He's surrounded by an amazing supporting cast, with Jason Schwartzman's "final boss" Gideon and Kieran Culkin as gay roommate Wallace in particular doing their best to steal the show. Filled with fantastic action scenes equally influenced by comic books, martial arts cinema and late 80s/early 90s gaming and paired with a killer soundtrack, this is a romantic comedy that's both riotously funny and surprisingly deep.</div>
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<u>#7: <i>Kick-Ass</i></u></h4>
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(2010, Directed by Matthew Vaughn)</h4>
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Whereas <i>Scott Pilgrim vs. the World</i> proves equal to its source material, <i>Kick-Ass</i> manages the amazing feat of surpassing it's source in nearly every way. Based on the first graphic novel in a trilogy by Mark Millar, Kick-Ass poses the question of what would happen if a geeky teenager in the real world decided to get himself a costume and become a superhero. The results spiral into a deliciously twisted blend of dark comedy, astute genre satire, kinetic and brutal action sequences, and even some surprisingly affecting drama. While the comics had most of these things too, it often pushed things too far and extreme (Hit-Girl snorting cocaine, anyone?), as if it was trying too hard to be shocking and provocative, and the series' gradually growing contempt for its protagonist causes many of the emotional beats to fall flat, particularly once the second book starts (why should I feel anything for this guy when I've just seen how much of a pathetic, unlikable asshole he is?). The film version works overtime to fix these issues, keeping the darkly funny and brutal tone of the book without seriously pushing it over the edge. More importantly though is how much more genuinely likable and endearing it makes its characters, whether it's Kick-Ass himself, the foul-mouthed fighter Hit-Girl, her ex-cop father Big Daddy (an offbeat, inspired and even bizarrely sweet Nicolas Cage performance), or the dorky and awkward would-be hero/villain Red Mist. Even the main villain, crime lord Frank D'Amico (still Mark Strong's best bad guy role to date), proves full of personality despite how dangerous and violent he is. <i>Kick-Ass</i> is a rare gem among comic book movies, a brilliantly entertaining action-comedy with a gleefully subversive bite. </div>
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<u>#6: <i>The Avengers</i></u><br />(2012, Directed by Joss Whedon)</h4>
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Do I really need to explain why <i>The Avengers</i> is on here? The fact it's from geek god Joss Whedon alone ought to justify its place on this list, not to mention the fact that it's a goddamn <i>Avengers</i> movie. Believe all the "holy crap they did it, they really did it, they actually pulled this off" reactions from comic book geeks across the globe: <i>The Avengers</i> is the real deal, a big-scale, supremely fun and ever-so satisfying work of nerd nirvana. The simplicity of its plot is more than made up for by its stellar cast, whip-smart and witty Whedon dialogue and shamelessly enjoyable action scenes, all building up to a huge climax that has practically become a standard-setter for popcorn blockbusters to come. It's really that simple: if you're a comic book fan, the odds of you <b>not</b> loving this movie are statistically insignificant.</div>
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<u>#5: <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i></u><br />(2012, Directed by Christopher Nolan)</h4>
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Well, I guess here's where it really gets into the whole "personal opinion" territory. Whereas some felt that <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i> was a disappointment (at least relative to sky-high expectations because did you even <b>see</b> the movie it has to follow up?), I absolutely loved it. The story feels huge and carefully structured, and we watch in anticipation as Nolan's many pieces fall into place. Michael Caine proves once and for all why he's the best Alfred ever, as we see the character truly pushed past his breaking point for the first time (and it's utterly heartbreaking to watch). Bane is an intimidating and brutishly intelligent foe, and Tom Hardy's performance brings him to imposing life despite the challenge of acting with most of his face obscured (plus there's that famous Bane voice- admit it, you love it, don't you?). Anne Hathaway really turns out to be the film's real MVP as Selina Kyle, finally giving us a live-action Catwoman who feels truly in line with her comics counterpart: playful, manipulative and toeing the line between good and bad whenever it benefits her most. The IMAX-scale climax set in the snowy streets of Gotham is astounding, an all-out war on the streets for the city's future that results in a satisfying and definitive conclusion to the story that started in <i>Batman Begins</i>. <i>Rises</i> cements Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight saga among the greatest trilogies in cinema history, a truly epic finale to a series that changed the film landscape forever.<br />
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<u>#4: <i>The Rocketeer</i></u><br />(1991, Directed by Joe Johnston)</h4>
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Yeah, now we're getting into <b>super</b> "personal opinion" territory. While <i>The Rocketeer</i> has been steadily developing a cult fanbase since its initial release back in the early 90s, it's still often overlooked by many. But holy hell does that deserve to change: <i>The Rocketeer</i> is a ridiculously charming, old-school styled comic book action movie, filled with heart, humour and unabashed fun. The 1930s period detail is fantastic, the cast is great (including a stunning Jennifer Connelly, a reliably cantankerous Alan Arkin and a delightfully villainous Timothy Dalton), and the effects work is top-notch in an era where practical effects were still the main go-to. It completely commits to the tone and feel of retro adventure serials (imagine Indiana Jones crossed with a superhero movie), instilled with just the right amount of patriotic cheese. This is the kind of movie where the hired gangsters turn against the villains they've been working with once they find out they're Nazis, saying (and I honestly quote):<br />
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"I may not make an honest buck, but I'm 100% American."<br />
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Maybe it's just me, but it's hard <b>not</b> to love a movie with dialogue like that.<br />
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<u>#3: <i>Spider-Man 2</i></u><i><br /></i>(2004, Directed by Sam Raimi)</h4>
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The best of the original Sam Raimi trilogy and still easily the best Spider-Man movie to date, <i>Spider-Man 2</i> improves on the fondly-remembered original in every regard, and still stands as a textbook example for how to make a great sequel. Peter Parker's life is at its most crushing and conflicted here, making him feel all the more relatable while also letting Tobey Maguire give some of the best scenes of his career (the two standouts being his heartbreaking pay phone confessional and when he tells Aunt May the truth behind Uncle Ben's death). Alfred Molina's Doc Ock is the best villain of the series, equal parts sympathetic and slyly menacing. The effects work is a huge step up from the first film, whether its Spidey's web-swinging acrobatics or Doctor Octopus' mechanical arms with minds of their own. The action scenes step up their game in a big way, especially in the fantastic extended train setpiece. Best of all is Raimi's distinct sense of humour, where goofiness and the crushing unfairness of reality are firmly in sync at every turn (resulting in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL8hVXSDmNM" target="_blank">Best. Montage. Ever.</a>) If you've ever wondered why so many people hate on <i>Spider-Man 3</i> (even though it's actually an alright movie overall), the answer's simple: it's because <b>this</b> was the movie it had to follow up.</div>
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<u>#2: <i>Superman</i></u><br />(1978, Directed by Richard Donner)</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5xc6rR2uLkd3yZFix4sS_W05z-jMuMPxeqPFZyswfyV01zO4tvaViXZktFA-AuFPoWNA1UY9g4-UhZi23jIzOBc_QiEhIJrW4HWP92hEVWCDzSXtjmPQ4FJV68kepfonVNtN7gJAAfYEh/s1600/poster_04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5xc6rR2uLkd3yZFix4sS_W05z-jMuMPxeqPFZyswfyV01zO4tvaViXZktFA-AuFPoWNA1UY9g4-UhZi23jIzOBc_QiEhIJrW4HWP92hEVWCDzSXtjmPQ4FJV68kepfonVNtN7gJAAfYEh/s1600/poster_04.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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While it's certainly not the first comic book movie ever made, the original <i>Superman</i> really was the film that started it all, the film that set the template for how to make a big-budget comic book movie back when such a thing didn't exist. Even now the result of a massive gamble by producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind (at the time it was the most expensive film yet made) still holds up sublimely well, a soaring epic comic book yarn that delivers a truly definitive vision of the Superman mythos. It's like getting five movies in one (in a good way): across 2 1/2 hours you get a mythic comic book fantasy, a big-scale disaster movie, a hilarious screwball comedy, an emotional coming-of-age character drama and a winning romance backed by screen chemistry that ignites fireworks at every turn. The huge star-studded cast is sublime, led by Christopher Reeve's pitch-perfect performance as both bumbling Clark Kent and pure-hearted do-gooder Superman. And who can forget John Williams' iconic score, alternately majestic, sweeping and thrilling at every turn? No one can deny the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrmWoBneIww&index=1&list=PL8D5935EF8A7A0F61" target="_blank">Superman Theme</a> is still far and away the best anthem for any costumed hero who's ever graced the screen. When people say the old phrase "movie magic", <i>Superman</i> is exactly the kind of film they're referring to- there aren't really any other superhero films out there that you could call downright enchanting.</div>
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<u>#1: <i>The Dark Knight</i></u><br />(2008, Directed by Christopher Nolan)</h4>
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I know, I know, real original top pick, right? Then again, could it really be anything else? <i>The Dark Knight</i> was a game-changer, and for good reason: it proved that comic book movies could transcend their own genre without betraying their origins the process. It's a movie that, even though it's the middle chapter of a trilogy, works completely as a standalone story, a sprawling and complex crime saga that just happens to star Batman. Its themes are powerful, questioning the nature of justice and order and whether or not people are inherently good or trustworthy. The action scenes are incredible to this day, striking just the right balance between CG and practical effects that the film's vision of Gotham retains a sense of gritty realism. Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning performance as The Joker speaks for itself, a fully embodied and personified agent of chaos both darkly funny and outright terrifying. It is still the high benchmark for its genre, an influential masterpiece of modern Hollywood cinema that changed the landscape forever.<br />
Also, the Bat-Bale voice is still hilarious/awesome. Admit it, you're doing it yourself right now, aren't you?<br />
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Thanks for reading, everyone! Tune in for new posts in the near-future!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-67712041786779218102014-05-17T14:39:00.001-07:002014-05-17T14:39:40.650-07:00<h2>
<u><i>Godzilla</i> (2014) Review: Epic Kaiju Destruction Through Human Eyes</u></h2>
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By Andrew Braid</h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Believe it or not, but this isn't even the coolest poster for this movie.</span></td></tr>
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<b>Directed by Gareth Edwards</b></div>
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<b>Starring: Aaron-Taylor Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, David Strathairn, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche</b></div>
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<b>Release Date: May 16, 2014</b></div>
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<b>Presented in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D</b></div>
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Godzilla, the proclaimed "King of the Monsters", has been dormant for some time now. First introduced to audiences in the original 1954 Japanese film <i>Gojira</i>, the giant fire-breathing dino-lizard has rampaged and battled all manner of mighty foes in his 60-year history. But perhaps his greatest foe of all was Hollywood: despite dozens of films made in the character's native country Japan, the only American Godzilla feature was the disastrous 1998 film directed by Roland Emmerich (<i>Independence Day</i>, <i>2012</i>) and starring Matthew Broderick. Hacked into a lame <i>Jurassic Park</i> ripoff, <i>Godzilla</i> was positioned as a massive record-shattering blockbuster that ultimately fell short of everyone's huge expectations. No sequel ever happened, and Toho, the Japanese production company who created the character and distributed every film in the series, completely disowned the film. If not the King of the Monsters' only defeat, it's certainly the most humiliating one. </div>
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It's been ten years since the last Toho Godzilla film (2004's <i>Godzilla: Final Wars</i>) and sixteen since the disastrous Emmerich film, but now the King has returned to the big screen in an effort to reclaim his crown. Excitement is high, but so is wariness and anxiety: the '98 film left a bad taste in many viewer's mouths, and the new film's director Gareth Edwards has no prior experience directing big-scale blockbusters (this is only his second film after the 2010 low-budget, independently-made sci-fi horror film <i>Monsters</i>). Now that America's second stab at the iconic character has finally hit movie screens, I can spread the word:</div>
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The King of the Monsters has returned. Long live the King.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The #4 Coolest Poster For This Movie</span></td></tr>
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Our story begins in 1999, when an enormous skeleton is found by Doctor Ichiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) containing two mysterious pods in the Philippines. One of the pods has hatched, and the Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism (aka MUTO) arrives at Tokyo's Janjira Nuclear Plant, causing a dangerous radiation leak that kills the wife of the plant's supervisor Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston). The event is declared an earthquake by military officials, but Joe knows that a cover-up is afoot, and spends the next 15 years trying to uncover the truth. </div>
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In the present day, Joe's son Ford (Aaron-Taylor Johnson) is a US Navy Lieutenant returning home to see his son Sam and wife Elle (Elizabeth Olsen), only to reluctantly cut it short when he has to go to Japan and bail out his father from prison. Initially dismissive of his father's theories, Ford follows him to the Janjira site... only to find no radiation there. Hidden in the area is a secret test site, where the second Muto creature is cocooned, seeping up strength from the radiation. Just as Ford and Joe are taken to the site Muto break out, bringing a rampage of destruction in its wake that no amount of firepower from Admiral William Stenz (David Strathairn) can hope to stop. But Doctor Serizawa knows a way, and it proves to be the only chance humanity has to stop Muto: to unleash a dormant alpha predator, a force of nature known only as... Godzilla. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYMD6j7kfnqB-sKL5iKkJQQfFXOPn_6508cuQl3PCisU-cGUtp_T9cCYu9JkAnKcKYpY5zse2zrECUtAj9KOKnsCTk6wmphYcsbcvGMFd7xtUEO4rUtFBT5t5a1dfHtB6WJG8W4rRnwlp/s1600/godzilla_ver14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYMD6j7kfnqB-sKL5iKkJQQfFXOPn_6508cuQl3PCisU-cGUtp_T9cCYu9JkAnKcKYpY5zse2zrECUtAj9KOKnsCTk6wmphYcsbcvGMFd7xtUEO4rUtFBT5t5a1dfHtB6WJG8W4rRnwlp/s1600/godzilla_ver14.jpg" height="400" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The #3 Coolest Poster For This Movie</span></td></tr>
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If that plot description sounds somewhat different from what the trailers and marketing have been selling us (ie. a grim-toned disaster film with Godzilla as the force of nature antagonist), that's because it is. Instead the film is very much in the vein of a traditional Toho Godzilla movie: disaster strikes the world courtesy of a new monster threat, scared human characters are scared, and only Godzilla can save the day (whether he really cares all that much about the humans he's saving in the process is up to the writers). How you feel about that may vary, but in my opinion it's for the best. Hollywood's been trying for ages to prove they can make their own Godzilla movie, and like it or not that's exactly what director Gareth Edwards and crew have delivered.<br />
The film spends most of its first two thirds on building up the monsters, with Godzilla himself not appearing in full until about the halfway point. Some have already raised contention with this decision, and it's not hard to see why: many modern blockbusters have treated their audiences like they have no sense of patience, throwing whatever flashes of mindless action and spectacle they can in seeming desperation of trying not to bore viewers. While it's easy to believe that this has created a self-fulfilling prophecy, I choose to assert that it is a fallacy- if a film can deliver an intriguing or engaging story or give us reason to care about its characters, then they will be willing to allot the film at least some level of patience when it comes to delivering on the action and spectacle equation. And <i>Godzilla</i> does indeed deliver this, at least as well as it needs to. The buildup of mystery and intrigue surrounding the monsters' histories effectively lures you in, reminiscent of the careful, character-driven buildup of early Spielberg films like <i>Jaws</i> and <i>Close Encounters of the Third Kind. </i>We know they are something to not only fear but marvel at when they make their presence known. The character drama is simple but effective (particularly in a heart-wrenching early scene where Joe loses his wife), giving the action its anchor of emotional investment that keeps it from getting overblown or silly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://roberthood.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/godzilla-rises.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://roberthood.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/godzilla-rises.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">All of a sudden I'm not so scared of Jaws anymore...</span></td></tr>
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In the end though, <i>Godzilla</i> is a film that is first and foremost driven by its action and visuals, and what we get here is pretty damn spectacular to say the least. Despite this being only his second feature film (and his first big-budget blockbuster), Gareth Edwards shows a supreme sense of confidence behind the camera, delivering a film of jaw-dropping scale grounded with often-striking intimacy. In the realm of giant monster movies it has a distinct visual sense all its own, finding just the right balance between grit and polish. I was flat-out floored by many of the film's artful, stunning shot compositions, whether its an explosive piece of ground-level destruction reflected in towering glass windows or the halo jump sequence that has already proven to be such an amazing centrepiece for the film's marketing. It all concludes in a climactic old-school Godzilla showdown (most of which thankfully hasn't already been shown off in all the trailers and advertising), and proves that it sure as hell wasn't bluffing- they really were holding onto the best cards all this time. Believe me when I say that this is exactly what hardcore Godzilla fans have been waiting for.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/news/godzilla-bryan-cranston-investigating-big-secret.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/news/godzilla-bryan-cranston-investigating-big-secret.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"You have no idea what's coming..."</span></td></tr>
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The cast itself is great all-around, rich with skilled character actors that satisfactorily fill what are undeniably stock parts (the soldier protagonist, the wife in peril, the conspiracy theorist, the stern military leader, the scientists, etc.). Cranston in particular really sells his stock part for all its worth, and Watanabe lends quiet gravitas to the film's smartest man in the room. Many of the characters don't really make much of an impression, particularly Sally Hawkins' scientist partner to Watanabe's Dr. Serizawa: we know nothing about her other than she works with Serizawa and that she reacts to Godzilla a few times.<br />
But when you get right down to it, the characters themselves aren't really all that important in this film, at least not in terms of being multidimensional or fully fleshed-out people (and even then, they're still better-drawn characters than you'd see in most disaster movies these years). Their real purpose is to act as human perspectives, eyes through which the audience sees the destruction and horror first-hand from the ground view. This lends Godzilla and the other monsters a sense of awe-inspiring scale in a way that hasn't really been done before by any of the older films in the series (though it certainly helps that this is also the biggest version of Godzilla to date, <a href="http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2014/02/godzilla-size-matters-chart-610x394.jpg" target="_blank">as seen in this chart here</a>). This role of human perspective is particularly evident with Aaron-Taylor Johnson in the film's lead: he's likable and believable, and even has some emotional material to work with (particularly with Cranston in the first act) but doesn't really have that much of a character to play, essentially being the (kinda bland) straight-man protagonist. This sounds like a problem, but it honestly isn't: his role in the story is to be the audience's main source of human perspective. His job as a soldier and relationships with other characters effectively justifies his presence in all the various action beats of the film, supplying the human perspective that makes the action feel simultaneously believable, grand-scale and awe-inspiring. That we actually do care about the characters despite their existence more as cogs moving the story than as fully dimensional people is a credit to the script and actors, but perhaps even more so to Edwards' skilled, confident direction. Seeing Godzilla fight a bat-like monster is one thing, but seeing the destruction and overwhelming size of the monsters through human eyes on the ground makes it feel so much more visceral and impactful. Seeing Godzilla tower over all this way doesn't just make him feel scary again- it makes him feel <u>mighty</u> again.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLVgmYgL-OCB4jr2OP7YQr-9eb_aRl6OgVw2q-ricCRwX-rWuMCazqxNht3c30kZhO8tAyItH5Js_d6cQ84CDkQaA83tHMs3CpDzosiz6ZcXvL4ch_kluNebfyzAOTlhRjBjTG5ddczVv3/s1600/godzilla_ver15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLVgmYgL-OCB4jr2OP7YQr-9eb_aRl6OgVw2q-ricCRwX-rWuMCazqxNht3c30kZhO8tAyItH5Js_d6cQ84CDkQaA83tHMs3CpDzosiz6ZcXvL4ch_kluNebfyzAOTlhRjBjTG5ddczVv3/s1600/godzilla_ver15.jpg" height="400" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The #2 Coolest Poster For This Movie</span></td></tr>
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<i>Godzilla</i> is the first genuinely great blockbuster of the summer, an old-school monster movie brought to life with awe-inspiring visuals, filtered through the emotional core of a story about repeating and confronting the past. It pays true respect to the roots and history of its source material while making it feel fresh, thrilling and even imposing again. It consciously takes its time building up to much of its action spectacle, almost to the point where it might frustrate less patient viewers, but delivers a spectacular and wholly satisfying payoff with a climax that makes the whole movie worth it on its own. It's accessible to both newer viewers and series veterans alike, delivering the first real flesh-and-blood Godzilla film in some time. By the time the credits rolled I knew for sure that the King of the Monsters was here to stay, and man does it feel good to have him back.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzT6aaD6K8OzdAbMsj8oA-tKCsTwdnpBZztMDgS5bdBsz9CRU3BsVyZkj5DIGL_nKb2aL68HeAW2bHM2xVivd8kR0kGdXTO59onvjdq20lgF1t7oGMBYYBbNySb-1ovasYOohiAATi2JP/s1600/godzilla_ver5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzT6aaD6K8OzdAbMsj8oA-tKCsTwdnpBZztMDgS5bdBsz9CRU3BsVyZkj5DIGL_nKb2aL68HeAW2bHM2xVivd8kR0kGdXTO59onvjdq20lgF1t7oGMBYYBbNySb-1ovasYOohiAATi2JP/s1600/godzilla_ver5.jpg" height="640" width="479" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And finally, hands-down, the #1 Coolest Poster For This Movie (and possibly the whole year).</span></td></tr>
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<b>Final Review Score: 9/10</b></h3>
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<b><u>Pros:</u></b></div>
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<b>+ Spectacular direction, with some truly awe-inspiring compositions of grand destruction and scale</b></div>
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<b>+ A great human cast, with Cranston and Watanabe in particular standing out</b></div>
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<b>+ Extensive focus on buildup, mystery and human drama (plus the focus on the ground-view human perspective of the destruction) gives the film an emotional investment</b></div>
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<b>+ It all builds up to a big climax that delivers in spades on everything a Godzilla fan could want</b></div>
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<b>+ Godzilla himself is every bit as awesome here as you could want him to be</b></div>
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<b><u>Cons:</u></b></div>
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<b>- Not everyone in the high-caliber, talented cast gets much of anything interesting to do</b></div>
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<b>- The long buildup to action may be a turnoff for some, and the excellent morsels of action we do get around the middle may get you impatiently awaiting more</b></div>
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<b>- It's not exactly the somber disaster movie the marketing has been selling it as (whether that's a problem is up to you)</b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-14000764697008377752014-05-10T09:45:00.000-07:002014-05-10T09:45:00.618-07:00<h2>
<u><i>The Raid 2: Berandal</i> Review</u></h2>
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By <a href="http://letterboxd.com/ben_macdonald/">Ben Macdonald</a></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnSj0SfhCusuFv7m0jMCUU94uAy20yTtm7H20ED9YGr7lUPH_gHSFSyha9uiCRQ2GlsLlBnLJzjFQXb0f3J2az1TL7EZGAaCYSBMXkagMtg-HMVdGJGwTYKQwGykNoCWtdaHkH1mT507o/s1600/TheRaid2_MPAA_030714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnSj0SfhCusuFv7m0jMCUU94uAy20yTtm7H20ED9YGr7lUPH_gHSFSyha9uiCRQ2GlsLlBnLJzjFQXb0f3J2az1TL7EZGAaCYSBMXkagMtg-HMVdGJGwTYKQwGykNoCWtdaHkH1mT507o/s1600/TheRaid2_MPAA_030714.jpg" height="640" width="432" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Directed by Gareth Evans</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Starring : Iko Uwais, Arfin Putra, Oka Antara, Tio Pakusadewo, Ryuhei Matsuda</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Release Date: March 28, 2014 (limited); April 11, 2014 (wide)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>In Indonesian with English Subtitles</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In recent years, Asian martial-arts cinema has come to be largely associated with art house </span>wuxia pictures like <i>Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon</i> and <i>Hero</i> or most recently Wong Kar Wai’s <i>The Grandmaster </i>. These are examples of Martial <b><i>art</i></b> films, with beautiful cinematography, period detail and refined stories where the action scenes closely resemble dance. <i>The Raid 2</i> is not one of these films. It is ugly and unrepentantly violent. It is also completely great.<br />
The importance of audience vocal feedback in the cinema usually applies to comedies and horror films, but <i>The Raid 2</i> is a notable exception. In the screening I attended, the incredible bone-breaking action of the film was met with a steady stream of all kinds of sounds of astonishment from the young, primarily male audience; mostly exclamations of “ohhhhhh!” and sudden intakes of breathe, as well as laughter at the sheer absurd excess of some of the violence. After the star takes out an enemy with a long flurry of rapid punches, a guy near me raises his arms as if for a touchdown. The immense skill and virtuosity of the martial artists and their choreography leads to a rare kind of visceral filmmaking. Frighteningly desensitized to screen violence though I may be, my whole body would tense up during fight sequences.<br />
Pencak Silat practitioner and star of the film, Iko Uwais, is a big part of why the fight scenes pack such a punch. Though he lacks the charisma of a Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan or Chow Yun Fat, he is certainly an extraordinary martial artist. And his acting is pretty good; he wisely doesn’t try to act all that much. He also manages to earn the sympathy of the audience so that whenever he gets hurt it’s surprisingly distressing in a way that the rest of the film’s ultraviolence is not.<br />
Though the action is all similarly brutal, a range of different weapons (blades, guns, bottles, batons, hammers, cars, an aluminum baseball bat, baseballs, etc.) give variety to one of the best collections of fight scenes ever stuffed into one film. However, unlike its predecessor, <i>The Raid 2</i> has lengthy stretches of story and dialogue between its action scenes. In direct contrast to the Aristotelian unity of time and place in the first one, the second film is epic in scope (and runtime: 150 minutes!). Whereas <i>The Raid: Redemption</i> was a minimalist <i>Die Hard</i>/<i>Assault on Precinct 13</i>-esque actioner, <i>The Raid 2</i>’s betrayal and revenge filled story of gang warfare and an undercover cop is much more like the crime thrillers of East-Asia, like those of Johnnie To. Such an ambitious departure is the smart move, but it necessarily entails sacrificing the simple perfection of the original. Differences aside, <i>The Raid</i> series remains a singularly brutal source of hard-core martial-art action. Viewer discretion is advised.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09716665349443003243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-15115912238614025642014-05-04T09:39:00.000-07:002014-05-04T09:45:24.879-07:00<h2>
<u><i>Noah</i> Review</u></h2>
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By <a href="http://letterboxd.com/ben_macdonald/">Ben Macdonald</a></h3>
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<b>Directed by Darren Aronofsky</b></div>
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<b>Starring: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, Ray Winstone, Logan Lerman, Anthony Hopkins</b></div>
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<b>Release Date: March 28, 2014</b></div>
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<b>Presented in 2D and IMAX</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text"><span lang="EN-CA">And God saw
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.</span></span><span lang="EN-CA"> <span class="text">And it repented
the </span><span class="small-caps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span><span class="text"> that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
(Genesis 6:5-6)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span class="text"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA">Noah</span></i><span lang="EN-CA">
begins right away with a summary of some of the main events of The Book of
Genesis that precede the story of the Flood. It’s the kind of exposition that
wouldn’t be out of place in a <i>Lord of the
Rings</i> movie. The pre-Flood world of the film is very much like that of a
fantasy film. The stars shine in the sky during the day and the land is
populated by giant rock monsters/fallen angels called Watchers. And as is
standard in Biblical epics and fantasy alike, English accents abound. None
other than Ray Winstone, Cockney gangster extraordinaire, plays the villain of
the story, Tubal-Cain. Or is he the villain? Maybe the villain is God, or Noah,
or mankind in general. The essential conflict at the heart of the film is about
whether humanity is more like the carnivorous Tubal-Cain, and therefore should
perish, or more like the virtuous vegetarian Noah, and should survive. Noah
himself seems to be of the former opinion. In fact, his conviction that deep
down humanity is irredeemably wicked and his fierce following of divine
commandment leads him to become more and more monstrous as the film progresses.
Tubal-Cain, on the other hand, may represent the very worst of humanity but his
discontent with his lot in life and his strong instincts for self-preservation
make him surprisingly relatable. And after all, he was, as he argues, made in
God’s image.<span style="font-size: 15px;"> </span></span></span><br />
Despite the fact that this is essentially
a CGI-filled summer fantasy blockbuster, it is surprisingly faithful to many of
the themes of the Hebrew Bible, for instance those in the Book of Genesis which
concern the origin of things and the existence of evil and suffering in a world
created by a benevolent creator. It is director Darren Aronofsky’s focus on
such classical themes and to the kind of dark psychological realism of the
Bible that makes <i>Noah</i> so compelling.<br />
The film manages to smartly integrate
little details of the Noah story into its unique interpretation, such as Noah’s
naked drunkenness. The burly Russell Crowe looks pretty good for a character who’s
supposed to be 600 years old. His granddaddy Methuselah, played by Anthony
Hopkins, actually does look like he could be 969 (plus he has magic powers).
But due to the brevity of the Noah story in the Bible, Aronofsky has to do a
lot of inventing. This includes a giant army and battle sequence as well as the
aforementioned rock monsters. For its central final conflict, the film actually
borrows heavily from the story of Abraham. And fortunately, for a narrative
that seems predisposed towards deus ex machina, the conflict ends up
surprisingly intimate and satisfying.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">Despite His very active role in the events
of the film, the God of the film (referred to throughout as “the Creator”) remains
mostly at an agonizing distance. For instance, after the Flood, the tormented
Noah looks up at the one small point in the sky that is not shrouded in dark
clouds and pleads for guidance. There is no answer except for that light part
of the sky clouding over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA">In a certain sense, Aronofsky is a sort of
Old Testament God in all of his films. He always inflicts great suffering upon his
characters. <i>Black Swan</i> and, in
particular, <i>Requiem for a Dream</i>, are
good examples of why his films have often been labelled as ‘misery-porn’. The
suffering is often infused in some way with religion. <i>Pi</i> features a character who is tormented by a numerical sequence
stuck in his head which he is told by a group of Hassidic Jews is the key to
God’s true name and the key to a new messianic era. The self-sacrificing
protagonist of <i>The Wrestler</i> is a
clear Christ figure, who endures barbed wire instead of a crown of thorns and
receives his stigmata from thumb tacks and staple guns. His stripper girlfriend
even quotes Isaiah to him: “</span><span lang="EN">He was pierced for our transgressions, He was
crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him; And
by his wounds we were healed.” Aronofsky’s metaphysical and deeply religious <i>The
Fountain</i> is a film concerned with mortality and deep emotional pain.
Because of its ambition, CGI visuals and connection to Genesis, this is the
film <i>Noah</i> is most often compared to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><i>Noah</i> is visually spectacular at times and an improvement over the
arguably, depending on your aesthetic sensibility, HD wallpaper look of <i>The
Fountain</i>. <i>Noah</i> uses a number of highly modern stylistic techniques
such as the rapid succession of still photographs. Some of the most striking
images have figures silhouetted against the sky. One great sequence stylishly
shows the story of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel. Later in the film, the
silhouette of Cain killing his brother is rapidly interchanged with a variety
of figures from recognizable time periods, linking all violence to that
destructive part of humanity represented by Cain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">But perhaps the most compelling image of the film is of people sprawled
out against a cliff surface as waves crash against them sending them smashing
into the water and rocks below. The image is taken from Francis Danby’s 15-foot
wide painting “The Deluge” (1840). This shot is followed by a shot of Noah’s
family inside the Ark; they eat a meal as they listen to the screams outside.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTRwWqc3jRwe2CZPBbx0baqdPlE2sxhTU9W3vxTy8LuwZyWp5WZqfWGOgY6PM5040Nmzm94uwnNkt87DcjqcFJ2RRPGBz_WAvLpwiH5XXlxW_RXezx0Jk3vkm2slXcmMZofuBBMzrr2I/s1600/Francis_Danby_-_The_Deluge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTRwWqc3jRwe2CZPBbx0baqdPlE2sxhTU9W3vxTy8LuwZyWp5WZqfWGOgY6PM5040Nmzm94uwnNkt87DcjqcFJ2RRPGBz_WAvLpwiH5XXlxW_RXezx0Jk3vkm2slXcmMZofuBBMzrr2I/s1600/Francis_Danby_-_The_Deluge.jpg" height="402" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Francis Danby's "The Deluge". Zoom in and you'll see many interesting details, such as Noah's Ark illuminated by moonlight in the background.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Aronofsky is a serious director, unrelentingly so. He’s also extraordinarily talented and ambitious. I think there’s something to what Wesley Morris wrote about how he “might be the greatest American director never to direct a great movie.” Every film he makes strives for serious greatness and profundity. And it’s because of this that his films are endlessly fascinating.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09716665349443003243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-65963132157273447092014-05-03T21:58:00.000-07:002014-05-03T21:58:03.800-07:00<h2>
<u><i>The Amazing Spider-Man 2</i> Review: Popcorn Fun in a Tangled Web</u></h2>
<h3>
By Andrew Braid</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
<img alt="http://static.squarespace.com/static/51b3dc8ee4b051b96ceb10de/t/53430256e4b016f70ff965d4/1396900451357/cool-mondo-imax-poster-for-the-amazing-spider-man-2?format=750w" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://static.squarespace.com/static/51b3dc8ee4b051b96ceb10de/t/53430256e4b016f70ff965d4/1396900451357/cool-mondo-imax-poster-for-the-amazing-spider-man-2?format=750w" height="640" width="443" /> </h3>
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<div>
<b>Directed by Marc Webb</b></div>
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<b>Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field</b></div>
<div>
<b>Release Date: May 2, 2014</b></div>
<div>
<b>Presented in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D</b></div>
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<div>
2012's reboot <i>The Amazing Spider-Man</i> was a generally entertaining film with some real sparks of promise within it, namely some palpable screen chemistry between its lead actors (no doubt helped by director Marc Webb, who previously helmed indie darling <i>(500) Days of Summer</i>, having a solid hand with character and dialogue scenes). Unfortunately it was held back by a series of stumbling blocks: a focus on a bland, at times outright clumsy retelling of the origin story we'd already seen before in 2002's original <i>Spider-Man</i> movie, a "mystery" plotline that doesn't really add up to much of anything, a version of Curt Connors/The Lizard that doesn't get to be as fleshed-out or interesting as it could have been (Rhys Ifans is good, but his character gradually gets dumbed down into generic mad scientist territory), competent but uninspired action scenes, occasionally iffy visual effects (for a movie that cost $230 million to make, you'd think they could afford better CG fire effects), and one of the most groan-inducing final lines of any big-budget movie I've seen in recent years. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://screencrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/DF-07963_rv2.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://screencrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/DF-07963_rv2.jpg" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Also, the costume kinda sucked.</span></td></tr>
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Okay, after saying all that, it really sounds like I <u>don't</u> like the movie, doesn't it? Well I do... kind of.<br />
Look, it's complicated... sort of.<br />
The thing is, I recognize that <i>The Amazing Spider-Man</i> wasn't a very good movie. Hell, if you went so far as to say it was a weaksauce piece of crap, I wouldn't really have much to argue against you with. But it wasn't completely without merit, either. That promise of a fresh start, of better things to come was definitely there. And judging from the level of enthusiasm and charm from its cast and crew, combined with the endless barrage of marketing being plastered everywhere in sight for <i>The Amazing Spider-Man 2, </i>it all seemed to be saying to the world: "those better things to come are here, honest!" Now that the sequel is here to kick off the summer movie season, it's time to see if Webb and company were right, or if the filmmakers were making promises they couldn't keep.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m78wa2sWs41rami3oo2_500.gif" class="decoded" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m78wa2sWs41rami3oo2_500.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u>UGH...</u></b> let's just move on, okay?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After a somewhat clunky (and kind of unnecessary) opening flashback/action scene involving Richard and Mary Parker, the film picks up proper with Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) swinging high as his superhero alter-ego, becoming a symbol of hope for the citizens of New York. But his life outside of the costume is filled with hang-ups. He's just graduated from high school and has to work out what path his life will take. His relationship with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) is struggling as he is haunted by his promise to her dying father to keep her away and strained by her burgeoning prospects that would force her to move to England. Peter's childhood friend Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) comes back into his life when he inherits control of Oscorp, only to find that he suffers from the same deadly disease his father died from, and Spider-Man's blood may be the only cure he has. All the while there's Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx), a lonely Oscorp electrical engineer who no one ever seems to notice. He becomes obsessed with Spider-Man after the wall-crawler saves his life, but a workplace accident turns him into the powerful supervillain Electro, who may prove to be Spider-Man's greatest threat yet...</div>
<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://cdn1.sciencefiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/The-Amazing-Spider-Man-2-Electro-thumb-1022x1024.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" height="400" src="http://cdn1.sciencefiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/The-Amazing-Spider-Man-2-Electro-thumb-1022x1024.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="399" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Electro, doing his best pose for <i>The Amazing Spider-Man 2 </i>Maybelline tie-in</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
If it seems like there's a lot going on in this movie, that's because there is: even at 140 minutes (the longest ever for a Spider-Man movie), there's a ton of plot being thrown into the film, with not enough connective tissue or time to make proper room for everything. It's much the same problem that <i>Spider-Man 3</i> had years ago, with too many characters and plotlines to juggle all at once (not to mention all the setup for future sequels and spinoffs). Some of this turns out alright (Paul Giamatti's bookending scenes as the Rhino, for example), but there are many characters just thrown in the movie with not much of anything to do except let us know they exist, and might be important later in future movies, maybe. B.J. Novak appears for a minute tops as Alistair Smythe (aka Spider-Slayer), and Felicity Jones' Felicia (aka Black Cat) is crammed in with two rushed scenes, one of which has her just magically knowing stuff that move the plot along. Meanwhile subplots involving Peter seeing ghostly visions of Gwen's dead father and Aunt May working as a nurse are introduced only to be quickly forgotten about for most of the movie.<br />
When the film focuses on quieter, more character-driven scenes it often proves funny and engaging, adequately establishing character even at its rushed pace. This is especially true of the romantic scenes between Peter and Gwen, with natural, easygoing chemistry between Garfield and Stone that shines brighter than ever before. Early moments between Peter and Harry are also good, despite the first film having written this one into a tight spot by not introducing the character right from the start. The Peter/Harry friendship has long been an important one in the comics, and <i>Amazing Spider-Man 2</i> does the best it can to dig itself out of this hole left by the first movie's miscalculations. Garfield and DeHaan's scenes juuust pull off selling the "childhood friends who haven't seen each other in years" schtick, even though the film finds itself sprinting to turn Harry into the Green Goblin by the end of the movie.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://media.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/uploads/40188/Screen%20Shot%202013-04-17%20at%204.38.38%20PM.png" class="decoded" height="204" src="http://media.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/uploads/40188/Screen%20Shot%202013-04-17%20at%204.38.38%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The scenes between Peter and Gwen are bursting with chemistry and personality, even as other elements of the film struggle.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<br />
The soap-opera drama that often is Peter Parker's life is on full display here, which proves to be a double-edged sword for the movie. While it enhances the comic book tone and style of the film, it often feels akin to a Silver Age comic, and not in a particularly good way. Whether it's Electro's cheesy "let me introduce myself with my new villain name I just made up" monologue, the awkward pop-ups of ghost dad Denis Leary, or Harry Osborn's angry growls of "curse you, Spider-Man!", these moments offer silly, guilty-pleasure fun that feels more at home in a 90s comic book movie like <i>Batman Forever</i> than a superhero film from 2014. The real problem is how it tends to take away from the film when it does try to go for genuine drama- it's hard to feel for Aunt May breaking down to Peter when you just watched Electro deal with a stereotypical evil scientist (complete with over-the-top German accent).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://www.screenslam.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/hr_The_Amazing_Spider-Man_2_10.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" height="266" src="http://www.screenslam.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/hr_The_Amazing_Spider-Man_2_10.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Dammit Jamie, I warned you about doing that <i>Annie</i> remake!"</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Early scenes with Harry Osborn and Max Dillon/Electro show real promise and personality, which makes it more disappointing when the two central villains have to fight each other for screentime. Despite a lot of setup and development early on, Electro is absent for long stretches of the film after his first major setpiece showdown with Spider-Man. Meanwhile Harry is forced to go to the dark side due to his plot contrivance- er, I mean illness, which still can't help but feel hurried when it's crammed in between Peter and Gwen's relationship complications and the (not really much of a) "mystery" plotline carried over from the first film (which these movies thankfully seem to be done with now... I hope). Even once the two baddies ally with each other the film can't seem to strike a good balance: Electro takes over the film again for much of its third act, only for Harry/Green Goblin to swoop in at the last minute and extend the climax even further.<br />
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<img alt="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/amazing-spider-man-2-electro-fight.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" height="360" src="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/amazing-spider-man-2-electro-fight.jpg" width="640" /><br />
<br />
Visually the film is a serious step up from the first <i>Amazing Spider-Man</i>, with Webb showing more confidence and prowess behind the camera. It helps that the director lobbied to have this movie shot on 35mm film, rather than the digital cameras used on the first one. Gone is the clean, drab and bland look of the first film; here to stay is something far more dynamic in look and style, with a real comic book "pop" to the colours and settings. Moments in the film portraying our hero's trademark "spider-sense" are very impressive, slowing down time as Peter is alerted to all the sources of potential danger around him. The web-swinging looks fantastic, with top-down and POV shots that make great use of 3D. Action scenes in general are much better this time around, aided by some great visual effects work. While some have found it a bit cartoony at times, it seems to fit the comic book vibe of the film, aptly displaying Spider-Man's superhuman acrobatics as he swings, leaps and bends around Electro's relentless attacks in the climax. The score is also much better this time, with Hans Zimmer and "The Magnificent Six" (ha ha, I see what you did there) delivering something much more varied, exciting and stirring to accompany the action. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVNOsuTKN04&list=PLKjwRpQidz5srV5LAUwIhq1TEy22l2eJW&index=4" target="_blank">new theme for Spider-Man here</a> instills exactly the kind of triumphant, heroic vibe that such an iconic character deserves.<br />
And of the many things this movie improves on, perhaps the biggest one is Spider-Man himself. With the awkward origin story stuff out of the way, Andrew Garfield can finally stop playing the hero-in-the-making and just start playing Spider-Man as we know him: confident, jokey, playful, and carefree on the outside with a good heart and strong sense of responsibility and self-doubt underneath. Donning the best Spider-Man costume ever put to live-action film, Garfield truly embodies the character, as if he jumped right out of the comics we've been reading for years now. It helps that the character's penchant for quips, a vital element to the character that the prior films never really captured, finally makes it over to this one in full-force. A montage early in the film of Spidey's various actions around New York best showcases Garfield's energy, charm and heart, whether it's standing up for a bullied kid or having to take out a mugger in a convenience store.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://wallpagez.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/The-Amazing-Spider-Man-2-Images.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" height="250" src="http://wallpagez.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/The-Amazing-Spider-Man-2-Images.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And can I just say again how awesome the costume looks now?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<i>The Amazing Spider-Man 2</i> is a movie that proves both very easy and considerably difficult for me to judge. Is it an improvement over the first <i>Amazing Spider-Man</i>? Unquestionably. Did I enjoy it as a popcorn summer blockbuster, and adaptation of the Spider-Man comics? Definitely. Is it actually a <b>good</b> movie per se? Well, parts of it are. Does it have some major problems, some of which unavoidably stem from missteps made in its predecessor? Absolutely. But was the good stuff in there enough to outweigh those problems? Well I doubt everyone will agree on this, but in my book? Sure, at least enough of the time to keep me interested for things to come from this new reboot series.</div>
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<br /></div>
<h3>
<b>Final Score: 7 / 10</b></h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><u>Pros:</u></b></div>
<div>
<b>+ Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone's screen chemistry is even stronger than before, keeping the film swinging even when it trips up</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ The cast is generally great, and the dialogue scenes play better to director Marc Webb's strengths</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ The film really pops visually with a colourful comic book vibe and great visual effects</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ The action scenes are far better than the previous outing, with a lot more creativity and style</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ The film has a good sense of humour, and the series finally seem to have a handle on Spidey's jokiness from the comics</b><br />
<b>+ The score by Hans Zimmer is a big improvement over the more generic, forgettable music of the first <i>ASM</i></b></div>
<div>
<b>+ The Spider-Man costume in this movie is <u>perfect</u>. Just putting that out there...</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><u>Cons:</u></b></div>
<div>
<b>- Even at a long 140 minutes the film feels too crowded with plotlines and characters, with the middle section in particular struggling to juggle numerous story threads</b></div>
<div>
<b>- Jamie Foxx's Electro and Dane DeHaan's Harry Osborn fight for screentime as the film's villains, and as a result Electro gets lost in the shuffle</b></div>
<div>
<b>- A somewhat clunky opening sequence involving Peter's parents goes on too long and gets things started on the wrong foot</b></div>
<div>
<b>- The film's often broad, soap opera drama can feel like it's pulled from a Silver Age comic book (but not in a particularly good way)</b></div>
<div>
<b>- One tiny bit of cheese during the film's climax almost completely derails the film's most major emotional moment (you'll <u>definitely</u> know it when you see it)</b><br />
<b>- That shoehorned, contractually-obligated <i>X-Men</i> advertisement during the end credits (long story how it got there) played out even worse than I thought it might.</b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-83818203954822769872014-04-30T21:26:00.000-07:002014-04-30T21:26:41.525-07:00<br />
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<u>Naked Lunch Review: Take a
Walk on the Weird Side</u></h2>
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By <a href="http://letterboxd.com/ben_macdonald/">Ben Macdonald</a></h3>
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<strong style="font-family: inherit;">Directed by David Cronenberg</strong><br />
<strong>Starring: Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, Julian Sands, Roy Scheider</strong><br />
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<strong>Earliest Year of Release: 1991</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">“In the City Market is the Meet Café. Followers of obsolete,
unthinkable trades doodling in Etruscan, addicts of drugs not yet synthesized,
pushers of souped-up harmine, junk reduced to pure habit offering precarious
vegetable serenity, liquids to induce Latah, Tithonian longevity serums, black
marketeers of World War III, excusers of telepathic sensitivity, osteopaths of
the spirit, investigators of infractions denounced by bland paranoid chess
players, servers of fragmentary warrants taken down in hebephrenic shorthand
charging unspeakable mutilations of the spirit, bureaucrats of spectral
departments, officials of unconstituted police states, a Lesbian dwarf who has
perfected operation Bang-utot, the lung erection that strangles a sleeping
enemy, sellers of orgone tanks and relaxing machines, brokers of exquisite
dreams and memories tested on the sensitized cells of junk sickness and
bartered for raw materials of the will, doctors skilled in the treatment of
diseases dormant in the black dust of ruined cities, gathering virulence in the
white blood of eyeless worms feeling slowly to the surface and the human host,
maladies of the ocean floor and the stratosphere, maladies of the laboratory
and atomic war... A place where the unknown past and the emergent future meet
in a vibrating soundless hum... Larval entities waiting for a Live One...”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-William S. Burroughs, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Naked
Lunch</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I recently went to see a one-man play inspired by William Burroughs
called ‘Underbelly’ and it turned out to be the best piece of theatre I’ve ever seen. The
play was compiled from a variety of Burroughs’ writings and presented an
incredibly distinctive, hilarious, insane and brilliant perspective of the
world. This prompted me to revisit David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Burroughs’
most famous novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Naked Lunch</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The film is much more linear than the novel, which
was comprised of a series of tangentially related vignettes, but it’s plotting
remains appropriately illogical and as hard to follow as a good film-noir. Stone-faced
Peter Weller delivers his best performance as Bill Lee, a hallucinating exterminator-turned-secret-agent.
Fictional equivalents of Burroughs’ friends Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac
make an appearance as witnesses to Lee’s loosening grip on reality. But the
reality of the film in general is so far out that it all seems drug-induced. From
the exterminator hangout to the bazaar in Tangier, the film is full of odd set
design and matter-of-fact weirdness. Music is also a big part of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Naked Lunch</i>’s distinctive character. The
score by ‘free jazz’ innovator Ornette Coleman, and Howard Shore, who has
scored all but one of Cronenberg’s films, perfectly suits the Beat poet
characters and the film’s unpredictability and almost improvisatory feel. This
being a Cronenberg film, the movie features a number of gross and disturbing
practical effect creations and Burroughs’ sexuality and drug-use is filtered
through the director’s own preoccupations, such as the blurring of the line
between flesh and machine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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However, the film is more a black comedy about writing and creativity. For
instance, typewriters turn into giant talking bugs and the Ginsberg and Kerouac
characters debate the merits of stream of consciousness versus obsessive
rewriting. Burroughs’ stand-in character Bill Lee makes his position clear: “Exterminate
all rational thought.”</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09716665349443003243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-23006412077985118352014-04-30T20:33:00.000-07:002014-04-30T21:08:59.494-07:00<h2>
<u><em>Beauty and the Beast</em>
Review</u></h2>
<h3>
By <a href="http://letterboxd.com/ben_macdonald/">Ben Macdonald<o:p></o:p></a></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ7RpH40N-3S0LSg94FI-kGBrlwvuE1pvrKWHqEbmjuDMymwjUj5yDzxp65MemQDtbGtkwqpdSx8U3gKCurAxUF6z-9-kzZk0bJhLcq4TMSdJL6foMWZgbTQ6-PGx_ETIwYqtQSFENKuM/s1600/la-belle-et-la-bete-original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ7RpH40N-3S0LSg94FI-kGBrlwvuE1pvrKWHqEbmjuDMymwjUj5yDzxp65MemQDtbGtkwqpdSx8U3gKCurAxUF6z-9-kzZk0bJhLcq4TMSdJL6foMWZgbTQ6-PGx_ETIwYqtQSFENKuM/s1600/la-belle-et-la-bete-original.jpg" height="640" width="470" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Directed by Jean Cocteau</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Earliest Year of Release: 1946</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Cocteau’s
surreal and expressionistic adaptation of the 18th century French
fairy tale is a stylish and magical fantasy. The Beast’s baroque castle, the
elaborate costumes and the haunting, elegant special effects all contribute to
the film’s striking imagery. As does the beautiful, shadow-filled black and white
photography of cinematographer Henri Alekan (who went on to shoot William Wyler’s
Roman Holiday and Wim Wender’s gorgeous
Wings of Desire). Also, the living statues, disembodied
arms and other animate objects which serve Belle and the Beast are considerably
creepier than the singing household objects of the Disney retelling.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think Guillermo del Toro said it best, who in a poll for the British Film Institute listed the film as one of his ten favourites, saying: “La
Belle et la Bête is the
most perfect cinematic fable ever told. After Méliès, only Cocteau has
understood that perfect simplicity is required to tell a fairytale – and that
nothing but the power of pure cinema is needed to create awe and wonder.”</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlV9GfE-jD03NuUvqaxYc5AfES_3GDoVwXbn1G3_cF9LbecFEUPfA-PMrbSgfWfZnZv4XNwD1-kI4ubpz1KrACBrPCxT5D7BNRNvnC25ksU-r1xG8e4KMC-Cvo3oEgmpQ7wbKci6C_VEY/s1600/Jean-Marais-as-the-Beast--014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlV9GfE-jD03NuUvqaxYc5AfES_3GDoVwXbn1G3_cF9LbecFEUPfA-PMrbSgfWfZnZv4XNwD1-kI4ubpz1KrACBrPCxT5D7BNRNvnC25ksU-r1xG8e4KMC-Cvo3oEgmpQ7wbKci6C_VEY/s1600/Jean-Marais-as-the-Beast--014.jpg" height="240" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA"><u>The
Island President</u></span></i><span lang="EN-CA"><u> Review: Paradise Almost Lost</u><o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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<span lang="EN-CA">The bright blue waters and golden beaches
of the Maldives islands stand in stark contrast to the grim near-future it
faces and its history of state torture. The Maldives spent 30 years under the
repressive regime of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Among the government’s political
prisoners was Mohamed Nasheed, who, miraculously, travelled from solitary
confinement to the presidency. When the Maldives finally achieves democracy,
the country begins addressing their most pressing concern. For the Maldives,
climate change is not some vague, distant threat but their present reality. In
a decade’s time the islands will be underwater and a whole culture and
civilization will be wiped out. The film follows Nasheed as he races to get the
most powerful nations in the world to save his nation. The political roadblocks
of selfishness and short-sightedness he runs up against are fairly infuriating.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">The film’s aerial and underwater shots
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<span lang="EN-CA">The text at the end of the film informs us Nasheed has
been removed from office by a coup d’état. The future looks bleak for the
Maldives. Soon it will be too late for them, and us. As the end credits roll,
Radiohead’s ‘How to Disappear Completely’ plays us out. Thom Yorke sings
hauntingly:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">The moments already
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<span lang="EN-CA">Yeah, yeah, it’s gone”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09716665349443003243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-58631505141721855652014-04-26T14:11:00.000-07:002014-04-26T14:13:42.031-07:00<br />
<h2>
<u>Coming Soon to Scruffy Nerfherder</u></h2>
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<a href="http://radiation-sickness.net/images/prevues.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://radiation-sickness.net/images/prevues.jpg" height="182" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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Hey all, Ben here.</div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">This summer you can expect to find my ‘stuck
up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerfherder’-self writing a bunch of bite-sized
movie reviews. I’ll be reviewing some of the films I just happen to see,
including everything from old classics to new theatrical releases. There may be
some content overlap with my esteemed associate, Mr. Braid, and my output might
be sporadic. I won’t be giving any ratings out of fear for my sanity. I’ll also
be posting my reviews on my <a href="http://letterboxd.com/ben_macdonald/">Letterboxd account</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09716665349443003243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-59895544811928907972014-04-24T19:45:00.001-07:002014-04-24T23:06:33.084-07:00<h2>
<b><u>2014 Predictions: The 10 Biggest Movies This Summer</u></b></h2>
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<b>By Andrew Braid</b></h3>
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Hello everyone, sorry I've been away for some time! But I figured now would be a good time to pop back up, what with the advent of this year's summer movie season. It's well-known that this is the big one, the 4-month span from May to August where Hollywood makes the bulk of its money, pumping out the biggest tentpoles they can manage in hopes that they will reign supreme atop the big mountain of money, that their films will be the ones everyone talks about, that theirs will make waves across the country, and perhaps even the world.</div>
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So yeah, no pressure, Hollywood!</div>
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2014's slate has been viewed by many as an "also-ran", a less memorable year that everyone will bide their time through until 2015 where all the <b>HUUUUGE</b> stuff is coming out (<i>Avengers: Age of Ultron</i>, the final <i>Hunger Games</i> movie, the next James Bond movie, <i>Fast and Furious 7</i>, <i>Jurassic World</i>, and of course the much-fabled <i>Star Wars Episode VII</i>). Compared to all that... yeah, 2014 doesn't quite hold a candle by comparison. But that doesn't mean that we won't be in for some damn big movies while we wait for all that to roll around next year. </div>
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But you might be wondering (or maybe just want a refresher): what <u>are</u> the biggest movies coming out this summer? Well I'm glad you asked (if you did indeed ask, I'll just assume you did)! This Top 10 will be my predictions for what will be the biggest movies coming out this summer. This will be based on domestic grosses only, although big overseas totals are likely for many of these film as well. So let's get started with my predictions, beginning with my #1 pick...</div>
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<b><u>#1: <i>How to Train Your Dragon 2</i></u></b></h4>
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<b>Release Date: June 13</b></div>
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<b>Rated PG</b></div>
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<b>In 3D</b></div>
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<img alt="http://blogs-images.forbes.com/scottmendelson/files/2014/04/hr_How_to_Train_Your_Dragon_2_6.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://blogs-images.forbes.com/scottmendelson/files/2014/04/hr_How_to_Train_Your_Dragon_2_6.jpg" height="400" width="268" /></div>
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Is this a surprise? Well maybe it shouldn't be.<br />
Think about it: the first film was already one of DreamWorks Animation's biggest hits, bringing in a big $217.6 million mainly thanks to its fantastic word of mouth. <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> has a jaw-droppingly good 98% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has cultivated a big following of fans who absolutely LOVED the story of wimpy viking teen Hiccup and his dragon friend Toothless. The audience that drove the first film to a $217 million domestic total will undoubtedly come out for the second film in what will be an epic animated trilogy. Animated sequels often outgross the original film, especially if that first film got a lot of lasting audience love like <i>Dragon</i> did.<br />
Case in point:</div>
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<i>Toy Story </i>(1995)- $191.7 million</div>
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<i>Toy Story 2 </i>(1999)- $245.8 million <b>(+ 22%)</b><br />
<i>Toy Story 3</i> (2010)- $415 million <b>(+ 40.7 %)</b></div>
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<i>Shrek </i>(2001)- $267.6 million</div>
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<i>Shrek 2</i> (2004)- $441.2 million<b> (+ 39.3%)</b></div>
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<i>Despicable Me</i> (2010)- $251.5 million</div>
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<i>Despicable Me 2</i> (2013)- $368 million <b>(+ 31.6%)</b></div>
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The only obstacles that could get in the way of this trend is failure to distinguish the sequel from the first one, something which <i>Dragon 2</i> has handily avoided: the film is set 5 years after the first, with a cast that has grown up with its audience to go alongside the bigger scale and scope of the new film's story. The marketing, while having the habit of trying to make the film look more comedic and mainstream-appealing, has still effectively sold the message that this is a film that will definitely prove to be special like the first one, and set itself apart from the competition.<br />
Speaking of competition, there basically is none: the only other animated film opening this summer is <i>Planes: Fire and Rescue </i>(and yes, it looks just as painful as the first one) on July 18. That sequel is to a critically-drubbed first film that was only modestly successful ($90.2 million), and <i>Fire and Rescue</i> would be lucky to match that. With no heavyweight animated films from Pixar, Disney or Illumination (aka the studio behind <i>Despicable Me</i>), <i>How to Train Your Dragon 2</i> has this lucrative audience all to itself for over a month, spanning from mid-June to well past the big July 4th holiday weekend. And with a film likely to deliver in quality, expect legs to be stronger than most other summer box office contenders this year.</div>
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<b><u>#2: <i>Transformers: Age of Extinction</i></u></b></h4>
<b>Release Date: June 27</b><br />
<b>Rated PG-13</b><br />
<b>In 3D and IMAX 3D</b><br />
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<img alt="http://filmjunkee.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/transformers4-1.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://filmjunkee.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/transformers4-1.jpg" height="400" width="270" />
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This is the one that many consider the "safe bet" for the summer box office crown, and it's not hard to see why: the <i>Transformers</i> series is hugely popular, basically proving to be a license to print money that won't wear out anytime soon. But while the series has been growing bigger and bigger overseas (BTW, <i>Age of Extinction</i> pretty much already has the race for biggest movie internationally in the bag), domestic audiences seem to be losing interest.<br />
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<i>Transformers</i> (2007)- $319.2 million ($390.5 million intl.)<br />
<i>Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen</i> (2009)- $402.1 million ($434.2 million intl.)<br />
<b>(+ 20.6% domestic; + 10% overseas)</b><br />
<i>Transformers: Dark of the Moon</i> (2011)- $352.4 million ($771.4 million intl.)<br />
<b>(- 12% domestic; + 43.7% overseas)</b><br />
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Franchise fatigue inevitably takes its toll around the fourth instalment of most series, resulting in significant declines in grosses and becoming the lowest-grossing entries to date (for example, <i>Shrek Forever After </i>declined 26% from <i>Shrek the Third</i>, and <i>Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides </i>was off 22% from <i>At World's End</i>). While the entirely new cast might give things some zip (especially with Mark Wahlberg as the series' new human lead) and the addition of the Dinobots will definitely get a lot of fans interested, it's clear that the franchise already peaked domestically with the much-reviled <i>Revenge of the Fallen</i>. The wide sentiment of dislike for that film undoubtedly hurt <i>Dark of the Moon</i>, which wasn't received too much better by critics or audiences. While a big domestic gross is still a certainty, <i>Age of Extinction</i> will likely be the lowest-grossing entry of the series in North America.<br />
Not that it matters to the film's producers, because they clearly made this one for the international markets, particularly China (the previous film grossed record numbers in that market, and this new one was partially shot in China).<br />
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<b><u>#3: <i>X-Men: Days of Future Past</i></u></b></h4>
<b>Release Date: May 23</b><br />
<b>Rated PG-13</b><br />
<b>In 3D</b><br />
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<img alt="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/comicsalliance.com/files/2014/04/x-men-days-of-future-past-poster.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/comicsalliance.com/files/2014/04/x-men-days-of-future-past-poster.jpg" height="400" width="270" /><br />
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While recent entries have been declining in grosses (with $146.4 million for <i>X-Men: First Class</i> and $132.5 million for last year's <i>The Wolverine</i>), the X-Men series seems primed for a resurgence with the latest film <i>Days of Future Past</i>. This one brings together the cast of the original <i>X-Men</i> trilogy with many of the returning cast from <i>First Class</i> (including beloved Oscar-winning superstar Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique), essentially doing whatever it can to bring back older fans who may have jumped ship after 2006's <i>X-Men: The Last Stand</i> (which is still the biggest domestic grosser in the series with $234.3 million). Of all the comic book movies coming out this summer, <i>Days of Future Past </i>definitely has the most hype, and has gained lots of attention ever since the credits tease for the movie attached to <i>The Wolverine</i> last summer. It also has strong scheduling for its opening weekend, debuting right on the Memorial Day holiday weekend, which is usually one of the biggest box office weekends of the year (last year's 4-day weekend brought in a record $307.5 million across all movies).<br />
There are some obstacles that may stand in the way of <i>Days of Future Past</i>, though<i> </i>(and I don't just mean the recent allegations facing its director- I'm surprised that hasn't been causing more trouble for the film so far). The <i>X-Men</i> films have traditionally been pretty frontloaded at the box office, so the film will really have to make the most of that opening weekend. Plus it's still a considerable gamble to try to win back this much audience all in the span of one movie- just because bringing back the original cast worked for <i>Fast and Furious</i> doesn't necessarily guarantee a similar degree of success here (remember, back in 2009 <u>no one</u> was expecting that franchise to come back in such a big way). Still, a major resurgence for the series definitely seems to be in the cards, though there's a ceiling for how high it can go (probably not much more than $250 million +).<br />
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<b><u>#4: <i>The Amazing Spider-Man 2</i></u></b></h4>
<b>Release Date: May 2</b><br />
<b>Rated PG-13</b><br />
<b>In 3D and IMAX 3D</b><br />
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<img alt="http://i.imgur.com/craNq7z.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://i.imgur.com/craNq7z.jpg" height="400" width="268" /><br />
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2012's <i>The Amazing Spider-Man</i> may have been the lowest-grossing Spider-Man film to date so far, but it still webbed up a strong $262 million, which was enough to get Sony to charge ahead with their already-greenlit sequel. Critical and audience reception was overall decent but kind of lukewarm for the reboot, which doesn't bode too well. However, Sony has been absolutely relentless in their marketing campaign for <i>Amazing Spider-Man 2</i>, effectively highlighting the new villains and colourful 3D superhero action. Whether the all-in marketing strategy is out of confidence or desperation remains to be seen (the studio hasn't been putting much effort into marketing the rest of their summer slate because they REALLY want/need <i>ASM2</i> to be a hit), but the advance buzz has been solid, with many saying it's a big step up from the previous film, a fun way to kick off the summer movie season.<br />
Speaking of which, that's <i>ASM2</i>'s biggest asset: the prime summer kickoff opening on the first weekend of May. Competition will be light going in, and the movie will undoubtedly open big as it should appeal widely to comic book fans and mainstream audiences. The legs afterwards may be a problem: while its second weekend is more or less all-clear, it will soon after get engulfed by other major May blockbusters <i>Godzilla</i> and <i>X-Men</i>. This is basically what happened to the first <i>ASM</i> movie: while it held well in its second weekend, it completely cratered afterwards once <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i> opened. Overall I think this film appears more in line with what audiences want from a new Spider-Man film, and should at least come close to the grosses of the previous film.<br />
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<b><u>#5: <i>Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</i></u></b></h4>
<b>Release Date: July 11</b><br />
<b>Rated PG-13</b><br />
<b>In 3D</b><br />
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<img alt="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/dawn-planet-apes-poster.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/dawn-planet-apes-poster.jpg" height="400" width="270" /><br />
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2011's <i>Rise of the Planet of the Apes</i> was a surprise smash when it came out, matching its great reviews with a $176.8 million gross that exceeded everyone's expectations. The film was well-received by audiences, and the upcoming sequel presents an exciting continuation of the story with a post-apocalyptic war between apes and humans. Recent screenings of footage at CinemaCon and WonderCon have received hugely positive response, and its release date in mid-July is great positioning. With a surprisingly weak July slate overall (it seems like mostly a lot of modest performers and likely big-budget flops such as <i>Hercules</i> and, unfortunately, <i>Jupiter Ascending</i>), expect <i>Dawn</i> to rule the box office for much of the month.<br />
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<b><u>#6: <i>Godzilla</i></u></b></h4>
<b>Release Date: May 16</b><br />
<b>Rated PG-13</b><br />
<b>In 3D and IMAX 3D</b><br />
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<img alt="http://s3.amazonaws.com/images.hitfix.com/assets/4763/8f65c2d0-9a57-11e3-8605-8bf3c558a0d6_GZA_1SHT_MAIN_ONLINE_DOM.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/images.hitfix.com/assets/4763/8f65c2d0-9a57-11e3-8605-8bf3c558a0d6_GZA_1SHT_MAIN_ONLINE_DOM.jpg" height="400" width="268" /><br />
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<i>Godzilla</i> is definitely summer 2014's biggest wild card, one of the few non-sequel tentpoles that's rebooting a long-dormant series widely-known to the public but not all that widely seen outside of its home country Japan. The one prior attempt to make Godzilla into a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster was the widely-derided Roland Emmerich film from 1998, famously hyped within an inch of its life by studio Sony (which I'm <u>suuure</u> they've learned their lesson from), only to gross a comparatively disappointing $136.8 million (adjusted for inflation that's over $230 million, which is actually more than a lot of the movies on this list will probably make).<br />
Seeing how that film was released 16 years ago and isn't really talked about much anymore, it's safe to say that this new <i>Godzilla</i> won't have to worry about any comparisons to that stinker. Trailers have generated a ton of hype and excitement, mixing jaw-dropping footage teasing the titular kaiju's size and carnage (in particular the memorable military skydiving scene) with a dark, foreboding and emotional tone that effectively hints at the film's human element. The film's mid-May release date is a double-edged sword: it has enough space from <i>Amazing Spider-Man 2 </i> to score a big opening weekend, but it will face a lot of competition the week after from <i>X-Men</i> (though the Memorial Day holiday could soften the blow somewhat). Still, expect this monster to leave a sizable footprint.<br />
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<b><u>#7: <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i></u></b></h4>
<b>Release Date: August 1</b><br />
<b>Rated PG-13</b><br />
<b>In 3D and IMAX 3D</b><br />
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<img alt="http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/229/files/2014/02/Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-Poster.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/229/files/2014/02/Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-Poster.jpg" height="400" width="270" /><br />
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The <u>other</u> big wild card this summer, Marvel Studio's latest has a potentially huge advantage in opening right at the beginning of August. August is always the weakest month of the summer movie season, lacking in any major tentpole blockbusters, so a normally-risky prospect like <i>Guardians of the Galaxy </i>could fill a big void for blockbuster entertainment. The obscurity of the source material could be a major roadblock, but the trailers so far has done a great job combatting this issue, effectively introducing the cast of characters and selling the offbeat tone of this space action comedy. The trailers have received a lot of attention and online hype, exciting the Marvel faithful who will undoubtedly turn up for this. Expanding to more mainstream audiences will be tougher, but a gross around the same level as the first <i>Thor</i> and <i>Captain America</i> movies ($181 million and $176.6 million respectively) seems like a reasonable expectation.<br />
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<b><u>#8: <i>Maleficent</i></u></b></h4>
<b>Release Date: May 30</b><br />
<b>Rated PG</b><br />
<b>In 3D</b><br />
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<img alt="http://angelina-place.com/picture/albums/userpics/10001/Maleficent_Banner.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://angelina-place.com/picture/albums/userpics/10001/Maleficent_Banner.jpg" height="320" width="640" /><br />
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Angelina Jolie, one of the biggest Hollywood stars in the world, playing Disney's most iconic villainess in a new live-action twist on the <i>Sleeping Beauty</i> tale, pulling heavily (and I mean <b>heavily</b>- just look at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVAYR-J0gT4" target="_blank">this trailer</a>, for crying out loud) from the visual iconography of that Disney classic? Yep, seems like a safe bet this will make money.<br />
To be serious though, even with a crowded Summer slate when it opens at the end of May, <i>Maleficent</i> should still see a solid audience turnout. The film should be appealing to family audiences who will have literally nothing else to go see at this time, and should stand out as a female-drive blockbuster in a month littered with male-dominated tentpoles. Two years ago <i>Snow White and the Huntsman</i> opened on this exact same weekend and played to a similar audience for a strong domestic tally of $155.3 million, which sounds about right for <i>Maleficent</i>.<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b><u>#9: <i>Neighbors</i></u></b></h4>
<b>Release Date: May 9</b><br />
<b>Rated R</b><br />
<br />
<img alt="http://www.fatmovieguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Neighbors-Movie-Poster.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://www.fatmovieguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Neighbors-Movie-Poster.jpg" height="400" width="252" /><br />
<br />
There's traditionally at least one or two big R-rated comedy hits each summer, and <i>Neighbors</i> seems poised to be one of them, maybe even the biggest one. The film's release date is the same slot where <i>Bridesmaids</i> launched to big legs and big success, and should play as strong counter-programming to the deluge of big-budget action movies. It helps that the film has already gotten advance buzz-building screenings (much like <i>Bridesmaids</i>), and the talk is that this one definitely delivers the laughs (it has an early Rotten Tomatoes score so far of 100%; it obviously won't stay that way, but it certainly bodes very well). Coupled with ample drawing power from Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, expect this one to be a solid early-summer hit.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>#10: <i>Tammy</i></u></b><br />
<b>Release Date: July 2</b><br />
<b>Rated R</b><br />
<br />
<img alt="http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg555/movienewsplus/stills4/Tammy/tammy_poster.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg555/movienewsplus/stills4/Tammy/tammy_poster.jpg" height="400" width="270" />
<br />
<br />
Melissa McCarthy is on <b>FIRE</b> right now, and everyone knows it. Following her breakthrough role in the smash hit <i>Bridesmaids</i>, last year saw McCarthy's starpower tested as a lead with two comedy vehicles, and both <i>Identity Thief</i> ($134.5 million) and <i>The Heat </i>($159.5 million) became smash hits. Whereas those two films had her teamed with co-stars like Jason Bateman and Sandra Bullock, <i>Tammy</i> is a pure solo vehicle through and through, a road trip comedy conceived by McCarthy herself. While the removal of the co-star safety net has made many give more conservative estimates to <i>Tammy</i>'s potential, let's face it: Melissa McCarthy is the real deal, the latest bona fide comedy superstar that practically everyone is in love with. Expect the marketing to kick into high gear soon, and McCarthy's starpower mixed with the ever-reliable road trip comedy template to draw in sizable crowds. On top of all that, the film is primely positioned to open on the July 4th holiday weekend, where it can undoubtedly make a huge splash.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Other Potential Contenders:</u></b><br />
<i>Blended</i> (May 23)<br />
<i>A Million Ways to Die in the West</i> (May 30)<br />
<i>The Fault in Our Stars</i> (June 6)<br />
<i>22 Jump Street</i> (June 13)<br />
<i>Sex Tape</i> (July 25)<br />
<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (August 8)<br />
<br />
<br />
Well that's my list! What do you think will be the biggest movies this summer? Talk amongst yourselves, and thanks for reading!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-6289281488310701102014-03-31T19:35:00.001-07:002014-03-31T19:35:42.421-07:00<h2>
<u><i>Noah</i> Review: A Sweeping Biblical Epic (Minus Most of the Pesky Christian Stuff)</u></h2>
<h3>
By Andrew Braid</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<img alt="http://images.moviefanatic.com/iu/t_full/v1390952434/noah-movie-poster.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://images.moviefanatic.com/iu/t_full/v1390952434/noah-movie-poster.jpg" height="640" width="432" /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Directed by Darren Aronofsky</b></div>
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<b>Starring: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, Ray Winstone, Logan Lerman, Anthony Hopkins</b></div>
<div>
<b>Release Date: March 28, 2014</b></div>
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<b>Presented in 2D and IMAX</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
I'm not really a fan of Bible stories.</div>
<div>
To clarify, I wouldn't consider myself religious at all for that matter, though the reasons for that are a completely different (and ultimately not very necessary) discussion. But I think I can speak for many where the idea of a "Christian" film or a Bible movie sets off alarms to abandon ship right then and there. Whether it's bland, sanitized and cheaply-made drivel like <i>Son of God</i> (or <i>The Bible</i> miniseries from which it's repurposed from) or insulting, propaganda-littered and cheaply-made drivel like the recently-released <i>God's Not Dead</i> (I could write a whole article about how inane and full of s*** that movie is- but I won't, because it really doesn't deserve to have its existence acknowledged any more than I already have), the wastes of cinematic space that get called "Christian" films these days are a far cry from the Biblical films of yore like <i>The Ten Commandments,</i> <i>Ben Hur </i>or <i>The Last Temptation of Christ</i>. Hell, even in the 90s we could still get movies like DreamWorks Animation's <i>The Prince of Egypt</i>, an animated film (and a musical, no less!) that even in a more truncated 90 minutes or so still tells an epic, powerful story about two brothers ultimately driven apart by their diverging paths in life. This gets to the real problem with such films as they tend to be made today: they get so swept up in "inspiring people's faith" (ie. encouraging their sense of "moral righteousness" and reinforcing what they already believe) that they don't bother to put real creative or thoughtful effort into telling good, compelling stories with any real depth or dimension. Filmmakers have a sea of possibilities to work with when it comes to Biblical films (or hell, films involving faith in general), but instead they act like easily-frightened children, either too scared or too unwilling to swim out of even the most shallow end of the pool.<br />
By contrast, <i>Noah</i>, the latest film from acclaimed Oscar-nominated director Darren Aronofsky (<i>Requiem for a Dream</i>, <i>The Wrestler</i>, <i>Black Swan</i>), does far more than just swim out of the shallow end of the pool. <i>Noah</i> is a film that dives headlong into the deepest waters it can find and never looks back, never letting anything stop it from trying to reach the ambitious heights it sets for itself. His only prior big-budget experience being with the divisive philosophical fantasy <i>The Fountain</i> (which was still made for only a quarter the budget of <i>Noah</i>), Aronofsky brings his distinct visual eye and a big-star cast to the table as he sets out on bringing the story of Noah's ark to life like you've never seen it before. Normally that would sound like a pull quote from the Netflix synopsis, but that's where Aronofsky really pulls you through the ringer, destroying any preconceptions one might have: you've <b><u>definitely</u></b> never seen the story done like this before.<br />
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<img alt="http://www.hdwallpapersdose.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Noah-2014-movie-hd-wallpaepr-1473x829.jpg" class="decoded shrinkToFit" src="http://www.hdwallpapersdose.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Noah-2014-movie-hd-wallpaepr-1473x829.jpg" height="360" width="640" /><br />
<br /></div>
<div>
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To say that describing <i>Noah</i>'s story is an exercise in redundancy is simultaneously an understatement and a premature judgement: of course you'd know the basic story that everyone knows, but even then you likely won't be prepared for just how Aronofsky tells it. <i>Noah</i> is a film of a rare breed, a Bible story stripped of many of its Christian religious elements. Instead the film treats its story as if it was a mythic fantasy film, albeit one certainly not devoid of spiritual elements. The Watchers, angels encased in giant stone bodies as punishment for defying the Creator to help the humans, walk the land like stop motion figures, as if they were pulled from the works of Ray Harryhausen. "God" is never mentioned, instead referred throughout the film as "the Creator". Noah's visions are depicted as hallucinogenic dream sequences with repeating symbolism (the snake, the apple, the stone used to kill Abel), ultimately left up to Noah own interpretation. But how can Noah truly know what the Creator wants? How can he accurately derive meaning from these visions, glimpses from a being whose very existence and creed is beyond any mortal comprehension? And how could Noah ever maintain a sense of rational, clear-headed sanity after, you know, <u>having a god in his brain?</u></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://img.moviepilot.com/assets/tarantulaV2/embedded_images/1384168444_selvig-thor2.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://img.moviepilot.com/assets/tarantulaV2/embedded_images/1384168444_selvig-thor2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Because, you know, that worked out <b>so</b> well for this guy.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<br />
Moreover the film has a bent much further towards evolution and environmentalism: a standout sequence from the film shows Noah's old family story about the origins of life on Earth, going from the Big Bang all the way to the evolution of the tiniest microbes, to fish, to reptiles, to apes and eventually man. This leads into the story of Adam and Eve, creating a world where the Creator and science work in tandem rather than being forced into war with one another. It's all brought to screen through the mind of Aronofsky and the film's superb visual effects, resulting in a movie that rarely spends even a moment looking anything short of astonishing. First brought to life by Aronofsky as a badass graphic novel before bringing it to screen (he took the same approach when making <i>The Fountain</i>), the film's barren, dying world ravaged by the descendants of Cain feels fully realized, imbued with a rich sense of mythology like the best kinds of fantasy works. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://aelathianovels.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/noah2.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://aelathianovels.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/noah2.jpg" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="303" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pictured: Badass graphic novel</span></td></tr>
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<br />
The cast too is excellent, ranging from Jennifer Connelly as Noah's wife Naameh to Emma Watson in an emotional turn as Ila, a woman taken in by Noah's family as a girl after being abandoned and scarred, incapable of bearing children. Russell Crowe gives his best performance in what feels like ages (likely his best work since <i>Gladiator</i>), bringing a subtle sense of nuance to what could have easily become a role consisting of little more than bland stoicism. His Noah is a man put upon to do the will of a force he cannot ever hope to truly understand, driven to go to whatever lengths he feels necessary to make a future for the world, even if he must combat the destruction of his own soul in the process. Even Logan Lerman, whom I've never really cared for before (he's usually... okay, I guess?), gives strong work as Noah's second son Ham, who more than anyone else in the family grows to doubt his father's heavy decisions. In a small yet crucial supporting role, Anthony Hopkins brings wisdom, simple wit and gravitas to the role of Noah's grandfather Methuselah. His scenes best showcase the strengths of the film's writing, at times being almost lyrical and poetic in its deep, emotional prose. Meanwhile Ray Winstone brings commanding presence as Tubal-Cain, leader of what remains of human survivors, giving the film an antagonist with equal parts savagery and cunning, who despite his immoral actions is still fighting for survival rather than mere greed or power. He is the face who represents everything Noah grows to despise about humanity, a face that will likely haunt Noah until the end of his days.<br />
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<img alt="http://movies.mxdwn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/noah-ark-family.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://movies.mxdwn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/noah-ark-family.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
Perhaps the most crucial way <i>Noah</i> stands apart from other versions of the well-worn ark story is how it doesn't shy away from the inherently dark nature of the source. While the film still earns a PG-13 rating, it's a fairly violent, wrenching tale about a man who decides to leave the rest of humanity to die, a fact that Aronofsky forces both the characters and the audience to acknowledge at every turn. We as viewers are asked to truly consider the morality of a character traditionally portrayed as a "good guy", to wonder how far is too far for Noah to go in his efforts for the greater good of the Earth (one choice made by Noah in the middle of the film is downright shocking). We are made to understand and even sympathize with his plight, even as opposing sides raise entirely valid counterpoints.<br />
The film's final act proves a fascinating subversion of the film's previous epic scope, conflicting emotions among Noah and his family morphing the story into a cabin fever psychological thriller. Naameh and the rest of the family (particularly Ham) begin to seriously doubt Noah's sanity and sense of morality, a plot that could very easily have fallen flat on its face under any other circumstances. But here they have every right to be afraid of Noah: his visions have given him (not entirely unjustified) pessimism and contempt for humanity, convincing him that if this second chance for the world is to have any hope of survival, humans should not exist in it. In this sense <i>Noah</i> does become a story that inspires faith, putting the audience in Noah's perspective as he grapples with his own human nature, having the deaths of many on his shoulders, ultimately learning to feel love again and give humanity a second chance (regardless of whether or not they deserve it). </div>
<div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090215223817/batman/images/d/dd/BTASPisonIvy.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090215223817/batman/images/d/dd/BTASPisonIvy.jpg" height="300" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">He also learned to stop taking ethics and philosophy lessons from Pamela Isley.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<i>Noah</i> is a spectacular film, the kind of unique big-budget epic that one would feel lucky to see on the big screen at all, especially as we're still pretty early into the year. Some may find its ambition and particular methods of interpretation perhaps too bizarre or unwieldy (I wouldn't be surprised if the walking stone Watchers turn some people off), but even so it nevertheless makes for a cinematic experience that demands to be seen, and most certainly one that deserves a chance from those who may have already written it off. It is a film that truly incites discussion and debate amongst its audience, as great art is wont to do. <i>Noah</i> is Aronofsky's vision through and through, taking a story that has been told and remade to death for centuries and making it feel fresh and exciting again. In the process it sets a whole new bar for movies of its ilk, which I can only hope inspires other filmmakers to reach for such heights the next time someone gets an idea to bring a story from the old book to the screen.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Final Review Score: 9.5 / 10</h3>
<div>
<u><b>Pros: </b></u></div>
<div>
<b>+ A visually astonishing fantasy epic from a true visionary filmmaker</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ Ambitious, bold and daring in its twists on a well-worn tale</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ Excellent performances across the board, with Russell Crowe doing his best work in years</b></div>
<div>
<b>+ Thematically rich, raising fascinating questions of morality by not shying away from the darker elements of the story most versions try to sanitize</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<u><b>Cons:</b></u></div>
<div>
<b>- Divisive, not for everyone (though frankly it's a better film for that)</b></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
Wow, two genuine contenders for my Top 10 list this year (the first, of course, being <i>The Lego Movie</i>), and we're only just starting April! Who'd have thunk it? </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-72051845865613348102014-03-05T07:15:00.004-08:002014-03-05T08:07:23.660-08:00<h2>
<u><b>TV Top 10s: The Top 11 Best Episodes- <i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i></b></u></h2>
<h3>
By Andrew Braid</h3>
<br />
<img alt="http://themuse.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-28958057-1024-768.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://themuse.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-28958057-1024-768.jpg" height="480" width="640" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>Into every generation a Slayer is born: </i></b><br />
<b><i>one girl in all the world, a chosen one.</i></b><br />
<b><i>She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness;</i></b><br />
<b><i>to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. </i></b><br />
<b><i>She is the Slayer.</i></b><br />
<br />
A long time ago, a youthful writer named Joss Whedon came up with a clever, subversive little idea. He was a man very familiar with conventions and horror movie tropes. One particular trope caught his attention: in so many movies, the "dumb blonde girl" character usually dies first, helpless and screaming, all because she walked into some dark alley. This is when a fateful lightbulb from the pop culture heavens entered his brain. He asked himself: what if that "dumb blonde girl" character were the hero? What if she not only fought back against the monsters and bad guys, but kicked major ass doing it? What if this seemingly ordinary girl turned out to be extraordinary?<br />
In 1992 Whedon's script was brought to the screen in the film <i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>, starring Kristy Swanson, Luke Perry, Rutger Hauer, Paul Reubens, and Donald Sutherland.<br />
It sucked. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/wuL7oJA66XI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
Flash-forward to 1996, and Joss' idea was resurrected as a television series for the still-fresh upstart WB Network, eager to look out for hip original programming to help make a name for itself. The film, while not very well received, was still a modest box office success, but even so none of the major networks showed interest in Joss' pitch. Then the WB Network came along, ordering a pilot and later a 12-episode order for midseason. This time Joss had true creative control, ensuring his vision was brought to life the way he intended. Expectations weren't exactly high for the show, either for ratings or critical success.<br />
On March 10, 1997, <i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> first premiered on television screens. Seven seasons and 144 episodes later, it ended its run celebrated as one of the greatest television series of all time, backed by a hardcore devoted fanbase whose demand for more is strong enough that the series still continues in comic book form (the first issue of Season 10 is released this month). It even spawned a concurrent, much-loved spinoff series that was successful in its own right. It may have been overlooked by the more elite awards shows, but viewers knew better- <i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> wasn't just any other show. It was something bound to endure for years to come.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/208/9/7/spangel__spike_and_angel_by_roowsj-d41sxlv.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/208/9/7/spangel__spike_and_angel_by_roowsj-d41sxlv.jpg" height="358" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">To say nothing of how long people will debate between these two</span>.*<span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
What can I say about <i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>? Or, perhaps more pertinent to ask, what have I not said already about <i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>? At this point the show's legacy more or less speaks for itself- it proved that working in fantasy, horror and other kinds of "genre" television wasn't some sentence to schlock but a potential gateway for whole other kinds of writing. You could mix horror, humor, action, fantasy, romance, drama, suspense, mystery, hell even musical numbers: <i>Buffy</i> did it all, and had it all, leaving viewers in rapt anticipation for what the next episode would have up its sleeves. In the end it<i> </i>wasn't just one show- it was <b>all</b> the shows.<br />
<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> ranks among my all-time favorite television series (big surprise there), and to celebrate it (and the aforementioned debut of Season 10, I guess- hey, if a tie-in presents itself, take it) I'm here to count down my picks for the Top 11 best episodes the series ever gave us. With a show as generally consistent in its quality as <i>Buffy</i>, narrowing this down to a list of even 11 episodes is a struggle for anyone, especially as each fan's favorites are bound to vary wildly (with few exceptions). There are many great episodes of the series I don't get to mention here, so I will reassure you all that if your favorites don't pop up then it by no means translates to me thinking it's a bad or weak episode. Because really, there are no outright bad episodes of <i>Buffy</i> (not even "Beer Bad"- though not for a lack of trying). I love the show through and through, and this is my own little tribute to celebrate the great moments that stood out to me.<br />
Oh, and it should go without saying <b>BEWARE OF SPOILERS.</b> If you haven't seen the show yet (or still need to finish it), then you probably want to go do that ASAP and come back later.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Honorable Mentions: </b></u><b>Passion (S2, E17), Becoming- Parts 1 and 2 (S2, E21/22), Band Candy (S3, E6), The Wish (S3, E9), Amends (S3, E10), Superstar (S4, E17), Fool for Love (S5, E7), Tabula Rasa (S6, E8), Selfless (S7, E5)</b><br />
<br />
<br />
And now, the <u><b>Top 11 Best Episodes of <i>Buffy</i></b></u>, starting with...<br />
<u><br /></u>
<br />
<h4>
<u>#11: The Gift (Season 5, Episode 22)</u></h4>
<h4>
Written and Directed by Joss Whedon</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://mimg.ugo.com/201106/1/2/6/198621/buffy522-1081.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://mimg.ugo.com/201106/1/2/6/198621/buffy522-1081.jpg" height="225" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"I know that I'm a monster, but... you treat me like a man..."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Yeah, I had to cheat a bit and make it a Top 11, because while not quite the best season finale <i>Buffy</i> ever did, boy does "The Gift" get close. Everything from Season 5 (the second-best overall season of the show) comes together here in beautiful fashion- Xander and Anya get hitched! Buffy lets Spike back into her house! Willow restores Tara's mind! Giles crosses the line that Buffy never would! Dawn needs to be rescued, but we actually care this time! It all ends with a spectacular action climax climbing up a construction tower, as Buffy prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice for her sister. The beautiful, emotional conclusion alone puts "The Gift" among the show's best. It's...<br />
*sniff* I'm not c-crying, why are you?<br />
<u><br /></u>
<br />
<h4>
<u>#10: Pangs (Season 4, Episode 8)</u></h4>
<h4>
Written by Jane Espenson</h4>
<h4>
Directed by Michael Lange<u></u></h4>
<h4>
<u><br /></u></h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="https://teeveeindc.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/pangs_017.jpg?w=640&h=361" class="decoded" height="225" src="https://teeveeindc.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/pangs_017.jpg?w=640&h=361" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Soon he'll be sweating... I'm imagining having sex with him again..."</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
If there were a competition for most quotable episode of <i>Buffy</i>, "Pangs" would undoubtedly make it to the championship title bout. There's a goldmine of great lines here, be they relating to Anya's lusts for Xander, Xander's unfortunate new curse (putting to rest the old hat idea that syphillis is ever not funny), Spike's utter desperation, and Buffy's wishy-washy uncomfortable dilemma in having to fight the spirits of a Native American tribe intent on wreaking havoc on Sunnydale in time for Thanksgiving. Sure, Willow's sudden disapproval of the holiday mostly pops up just for the sake of having that point-of-view presented, but are you really going to complain about such things when you're left laughing so hard? Maybe it is a sham... but it's a sham with yams!<br />
<u><br /></u>
<br />
<h4>
<u>#9: Family (Season 5, Episode 6)</u></h4>
<h4>
Written and Directed by Joss Whedon</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://corafoerstner.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/willow-and-tara.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" height="225" src="http://corafoerstner.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/willow-and-tara.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Every time I- even when I'm at my worst, you make me feel special. How do you do that?" "Magic."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The first and only episode to center around Willow's girlfriend Tara as the story's main focus, it honestly makes me wish the character (and her actress Amber Benson) had gotten more time to potentially shine. This episode marks the point where she becomes a full-blown member of the Scoobies, confronting the father and siblings who tried to manipulate and control her all this time (including bitchy sister Amy Adams!). These final scenes, where the gang stands up for Tara and call themselves her family, make the episode for me, culminating in a slightly cheesy, but by no means any less heartwarming, magical embrace.<br />
It still gets me every time...<br />
<u><br /></u>
<br />
<h4>
<u>#8: Doppelgangland (Season 3, Episode 16)</u></h4>
<h4>
Written and Directed by Joss Whedon</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<img alt="http://24.media.tumblr.com/f6cee13fb958b1759d01548aa59bae22/tumblr_muyyh20EkR1qkbybho1_500.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/f6cee13fb958b1759d01548aa59bae22/tumblr_muyyh20EkR1qkbybho1_500.jpg" height="400" width="315" /><br />
<br />
<br />
I will make it no secret that the shy yet smart and highly capable Willow Rosenberg is my favorite <i>Buffy</i> character (with Anya ranking a close second, followed by Spike), and "Doppelgangland" is perhaps a better argument than any as for why. Alyson Hannigan plays four, count 'em, <u>four</u> different takes on Willow here, ranging from the sadistic, darkly kinky Vampire Willow (accidentally pulled from the alternate universe created by Anya in "The Wish") to Willow having to impersonate Vampire Willow in order to save her friends. It's a killer showcase episode built around a deviously fun (although admittedly fanservice-y) premise, yet another big hit from the show at its peak. The reintroduction of Anya certainly helps, showing the early signs of how this character would eventually make herself a staple of the series ("I'm a mortal, a child... and I'm flunking math!"). It's an episode that reminds us why we love the character so much, but also shows us how much she's grown (and hints at how she'll continue to do so).<br />
<br />
<h4>
<u>#7: Chosen (Season 7, Episode 22)</u></h4>
<h4>
Written and Directed by Joss Whedon</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://whatculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/buffy-series-finale-9-10.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://whatculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/buffy-series-finale-9-10.jpg" height="225" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"I just realized something, something that never really occurred to me before. We're going to win."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Season 7, while damn good overall, had a handful of bumps in the road, but no one will argue that the big season (and series!) finale didn't deliver in a very big way. It starts with a relaxing buildup: Angel pops in one last time, hookups are had, D&D games are played. It's all a quiet calm before the mother of all s***storms- a final fight with the forces of The First Evil, threatening to tear apart the world as we know it. The scale has never been higher, nor have the stakes and most definitely not the casualties (Anya NOOOOOOOO!). It all culminates in a huge gamechanger for the <i>Buffy-</i>verse, sharing the Slayer power with ALL of the Potentials out there across the world (talk about literal female empowerment!). The story continues on in the comics (which rock, BTW), but for now the Scoobies can't go home again.<br />
Seriously, they can't. It's a f***ing crater now.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080921201007/buffy/images/6/6b/SunnydaleDestroyed.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080921201007/buffy/images/6/6b/SunnydaleDestroyed.jpg" height="225" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sunnydale: still in better shape than Detroit.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h4>
<u>#6: Something Blue (Season 4, Episode 9)</u></h4>
<h4>
Written by Tracey Forbes</h4>
<h4>
Directed by Nick Marck</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://persephonemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/buffy-something-blue.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://persephonemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/buffy-something-blue.jpg" height="225" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Honey, we need to talk about the invitations. Now do you wanna be William the Bloody or just Spike? Cuz either way it's gonna be majorly weird."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Here' the weird thing about Season 4: when it comes to the actual "Big Bad" season arc, it's pretty weak overall. But whenever the season got to sideline (or outright forget about) most of its Initiative and Adam-related content, it put out some of the best and most memorable hours of the entire series. "Something Blue" is a prime example of this: the Initiative merely gets mentioned and Riley does pop up, but only for the sake of mining more comedy from Buffy and Spike's magic-induced wedding proposal. Instead, the episode is devoted to firing laughs throughout, as Willow's depression following her breakup with Oz leads to a spell gone very (hilariously) wrong. The show takes a concept with amazing potential ("What if everything Willow says comes true?") and actually manages to live up to it in its own <i>Buffy</i>-style fashion, with everyone stumbling around trying to figure out how the hell this is all happening.<br />
And no, Buffy and Spike as a lovesick couple planning invitations will <u>never</u> stop being funny.<br />
<br />
<u><br /></u>
<br />
<h4>
<u>#5: Graduation Day- Parts 1 and 2 (Season 3, Episodes 21 and 22)</u></h4>
<h4>
Written and Directed by Joss Whedon <u></u></h4>
<h4>
<u><br /></u></h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXO97pE85ZEwH-t1TSgwJWFoLn9LNVHHeOKX_5it5MJ0Wb4Jr3C4wRD1PPg7Y0vg5Fqqv7flgvR70_Lt9sHPxTTxkBX81r2NjRjEzUnn5LVjy6fbxS8q5dKrcARZC_Rg5M815aNOHoCGUc/s1600/buffy5.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXO97pE85ZEwH-t1TSgwJWFoLn9LNVHHeOKX_5it5MJ0Wb4Jr3C4wRD1PPg7Y0vg5Fqqv7flgvR70_Lt9sHPxTTxkBX81r2NjRjEzUnn5LVjy6fbxS8q5dKrcARZC_Rg5M815aNOHoCGUc/s400/buffy5.jpg" height="299" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"We survived." "It was a hell of a battle." "Not the battle. High school."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<i>Buffy</i> season finales have been somewhat hit (Seasons 2, 5 and 7) and miss (Seasons 4*<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span> and 6), but with Season 3's big finish the show capped off its best season with a truly killer 2-part high note. This one has it all- a big showdown between Buffy and Faith, the final ultimate plan of Mayor Wilkins (still the best Big Bad the show ever had, though not for lack of trying), the final nail in the coffin of Buffy and Angel's relationship, the final nail in the coffin of Cordelia and Wesley's wannabe relationship, hummus, and a climactic battle that pays off not just this season but all 3 seasons to this point in a <b>massively</b> satisfying manner. It's a textbook definition of how to do a season finale right, and it easily stands as one of the show's biggest highlights.<br />
<h4>
<u><br /></u></h4>
<h4>
<u>#4: Once More With Feeling (Season 6, Episode 7)</u></h4>
<h4>
Written and Directed by Joss Whedon</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://diljpaul.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/buffy-once-more-with-feeling.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://diljpaul.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/buffy-once-more-with-feeling.jpg" height="225" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'll just leave <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itrbw0PH6ts" target="_blank">this</a> here.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Do I really have to explain this one? It's the freakin' musical episode, <b>EVERYONE</b> knows why this one rules. Many fans rank it as the absolute best of the entire series, and believe me they sure as hell ain't far off. The songs are all a delight, peppered with infectiously clever lyrics and all performed by the show's incredibly game cast. Gellar and Marsters give the episode its center, though it's Emma Caulfield as Anya and Amber Benson's Tara who truly stand out with their amazing vocal chops. And do I honestly have to keep going? Just listen to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5SkO6CYkvg" target="_blank">"I'll Never Tell"</a> again and pretend I'm delivering some kind of fascinating academic dissertation.<br />
<br />
<u><br /></u>
<br />
<h4>
<u>#3: The Zeppo (Season 3, Episode 13)</u></h4>
<h4>
Written by Dan Vebber</h4>
<h4>
Directed by James Whitmore, Jr.<u></u></h4>
<h4>
<u><br /></u></h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://media.screened.com/uploads/0/7932/526559-zeppo112.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://media.screened.com/uploads/0/7932/526559-zeppo112.jpg" height="300" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"What is it? How do you get it? Who doesn't have it, and who decides who doesn't have it? What is the essence of 'cool'?"</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
"The Zeppo" is a brilliant parody of the show's formula, sidelining the usual end-of-the-world <i>Buffy</i> plotline into the background, instead focusing on the everyman "Zeppo" (look it up!) of the group, one Xander Harris. No episode has better answered the question "Why IS Xander here on this show?", proving why he is so essential in his role as the seemingly useless everyman, the Jimmy Olsen to Buffy's Superman. Nicholas Brendon truly shines here, stepping up to the plate to give us a Xander who is both tragically unlucky in his pursuit of cool and yet very lucky to have a strength, resourcefulness and capability within him that he more than anyone underestimates. In the end it's incredibly affirming that Xander realizes that he doesn't need recognition for being a hero, so long as <b>he</b> knows he was one. And none of this even mentions how breathlessly funny "The Zeppo" is, wildly escalating in both Xander's A-plot and everyone else's absurdly devoid of context B plot (the funniest part for me being when Xander awkwardly interrupts yet <u>another</u> tearful Buffy/Angel moment). This episode's profile has risen among fans over time, and for good reason: it's clever approach of cheeky deconstruction makes it easily stands among <i>Buffy</i>'s best.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<u>#2: The Body (Season 5, Episode 16)</u></h4>
<h4>
<u></u>Written and Directed by Joss Whedon</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhjOMMY88H0Q89xfsJiCYk2t_so6vXumYywGRk9fbZOeOZpabKDnRHEr51ixxekPVhjyOEb2Lm7hJ6rQ4IZ3RQ6yto4qDmQ1kCqkK1EvxtRUG4ytazUkSraGns-AY_6TFlrK93er-tTA/s1600/564px-Body-cap010.jpg" class="decoded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhjOMMY88H0Q89xfsJiCYk2t_so6vXumYywGRk9fbZOeOZpabKDnRHEr51ixxekPVhjyOEb2Lm7hJ6rQ4IZ3RQ6yto4qDmQ1kCqkK1EvxtRUG4ytazUkSraGns-AY_6TFlrK93er-tTA/s400/564px-Body-cap010.jpg" height="224" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"But I don't understand. I don't understand how this all happens."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I'll admit, number one for this list is contentious. In all regards "The Body" is a masterpiece- not just objectively the best episode of <i>Buffy</i>, but one of the single best pieces of television ever made. Indeed, no hour of television has shocked, horrified, and all around left me a quivering emotional wreck as much as this one. Sarah Michelle Gellar does undoubtedly her finest acting of the entire series right here, doing an early first act sequence all in one long take as she struggles to come to terms with what she has just come home to. The direction by Whedon is top-notch, immediate and unflinching. Emma Caulfield once again becomes a standout through a scene so honest and heart-wrenching that it is literally impossible not to break into a pile of tears right along with her.<br />
At the same time though, it's a particularly distinct episode of <i>Buffy</i>, with almost no jokes whatsoever and only one small action beat at the end, harshly driving home that no matter how hard this experience is, life must still go on. It succeeds so beautifully in part because it is an episode very unlike <i>Buffy</i>, starkly presenting one of the most realistic portrayals of dealing with death and grief ever committed to television. It's also an episode that has been admitted time and again as the hardest one to watch, not exactly lending itself well to repeat viewings like so many other installments of the series. As undeniably phenomenal as "The Body" is, I felt that I should give the #1 spot to the episode that best exemplifies <i>Buffy</i> as a whole (at least for me), even though it's debatable whether or not it's truly the best episode of the entire series. In other words, I guess you could say the top 2 are more or less interchangeable, depending on what you prefer as the best representation of the show as a whole.<br />
But even so, #2 isn't exactly low praise, and I believe "The Body" should be seen (at least once) by anyone who truly loves television as an artistic medium.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
So then, what <u>does</u> take the top spot? What episode really and truly embodies <i>Buffy</i> at its best?<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<u>#1: Hush (Season 4, Episode 10)</u></h4>
<h4>
Written and Directed by Joss Whedon</h4>
<br />
<img alt="http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l302/track_three/Picspammy/Hush3.png" class="decoded overflowing" height="483" src="http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l302/track_three/Picspammy/Hush3.png" width="640" /><br />
<br />
<br />
Even with the aforementioned contention, I doubt anyone can argue against this choice. In fact, it's arguably the easiest choice one could go with for the top spot in a Best of <i>Buffy</i> list. Even if it doesn't always end up at the top of everyone's personal lists, it's the one episode that is absolutely guaranteed to make it on there, no matter what kind of Buffy fan you are. Of all the show's "gimmick" episodes, "Hush" presents the most clever conceit- nearly an entire episode devoid of spoken dialogue, brought about when the fairy tale menaces known as The Gentlemen (still the most genuinely frightening monster-of-the-week to ever grace the series) steal the voices of everyone in Sunnydale. As The Gentlemen stalk the streets at night the Scoobies must come up with a plan, all while working out their various communication issues (because Joss Whedon is clever like that)."Hush" represents the show at the peak of its creativity, delivering in full concentrated force everything that makes <i>Buffy </i>great: exciting action, hysterical comedy (seriously, just <b>try</b> to watch the classroom projector scene and not break into laughter. <u>I dare you</u>.), surprisingly creepy horror, sweet and charming romance, and the dramas of being an everyday young adult in a town beset with all manner of goings-on that are anything but everyday.<br />
And for that, "Hush" is my pick for the best episode of <i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>.<br />
<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading, everyone! (And before you ask, yes I do have a Top 10 for <i>Angel</i> raring to go for the near-future).<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*<span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span>: Since you must know, I'm Team Spike. It's hardly even a question for me.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span>: I'm referring to the actual season-arc resolution itself with Adam and The Initiative, not the actual last episode of Season 4 ("Restless"), which is a crazy cool, lovably bizarre and surreal cap to an appropriately experimental season. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837317823654260079.post-22078650909397653192014-02-16T17:08:00.000-08:002014-02-16T17:09:33.767-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<h2>
<u><i>Robocop</i> Review: Surprisingly not terrible... (that's all I got, really)</u></h2>
<h3>
By Andrew Braid</h3>
<br />
<img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGHZgSgoOttHd8s3LZQ0NPx2YZmEj7g6N_ijWKqzlrZ5RmodCxNLQKTS9gUAD2dCUafmXWaR7t4sAR9vyCAM5s_EpA4Ahq4eWXYjHgqadTmMmnL4mnoQxuhJGYdjjLpQxNAV0GrGlihOY/s1600/robo_imaxexclusive_blog_1000x1458.jpeg" class="decoded overflowing" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGHZgSgoOttHd8s3LZQ0NPx2YZmEj7g6N_ijWKqzlrZ5RmodCxNLQKTS9gUAD2dCUafmXWaR7t4sAR9vyCAM5s_EpA4Ahq4eWXYjHgqadTmMmnL4mnoQxuhJGYdjjLpQxNAV0GrGlihOY/s640/robo_imaxexclusive_blog_1000x1458.jpeg" height="640" width="438" /><br />
<br />
<b>Directed by Jose Padilha</b><br />
<b>Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Michael Keaton, Gary Oldman, Jackie Earle Haley, Jay Baruchel, Michael K. Williams, Samuel L. Jackson</b><br />
<b>Release Date: February 12, 2014</b><br />
<b>Presented in 2D and IMAX</b><br />
<br />
<br />
Did we really need a <i>Robocop</i> remake?<br />
The original 1987 film is still revered as a genre classic of its time, with an enduring legacy of executives doing everything possible to sh** all over it with <i>Robocop 2</i>, <i>Robocop 3</i>, the live-action TV series, the <u>other</u> live-action TV series, <i>Robocop 3</i>, two kids' cartoons, and that one movie with the PG-13 rating and the stupid jetpack. What was it called again?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://static2.solarmovie.so/images/movies/0107978_big.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://static2.solarmovie.so/images/movies/0107978_big.jpg" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="266" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ugh... right...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sorry, losing my point a bit.<br />
Thing is, no matter how hard the forces of Hollywood seemed to try, absolutely nothing has tarnished the original film's reputation, still seen as equal parts badass ultraviolent action movie and intelligent, biting satire of corporate-ruled American culture. And even if they remade it and it <u>was</u> terrible, its legacy would still stand, as beloved by its fans, young and old, as it's ever been. Besides, there's no way anyone could make a <i>Robocop</i> movie worse than the one with cyber-ninjas and Rip Torn. <br />
I'll be honest, like many of you I wasn't exactly looking forward to the new remake of <i>Robocop</i>, brought to us by <i>Elite Squad</i> series director Jose Padilha and Sony's insistent marketing budget. Namely because when you get right down to it, there honestly doesn't seem like there's any need for a remake to exist- all the points that the original makes still stand. Everything it has to say is still relevant to the present day: the rich have essentially won and have taken over the country, leaving the 99% of average folks to suffer in s***holes like Detroit with rampant crime that the media loves to gloss over whenever it can to keep people complacent (that is, when they're not distracted by lowest-common denominator TV shows). It didn't just offer a vision of the future; its vision was already true back then, and things haven't really changed that much at all by now (I mean, have you <u>seen</u> Detroit lately?). Science fiction is meant to be about offering new, often-personal visions of the future, so how can you do that through a remake, a term which by definition seems to mean recycled rehash of what's already there? Well if there's anything the new <i>Robocop</i> does right, it's this: take the basic framework and make a different movie about different themes.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://images.freshnessmag.com/wp-content/uploads//2012/10/robocop-2-behind-the-scenes-joel-kinnaman-03-570x846.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://images.freshnessmag.com/wp-content/uploads//2012/10/robocop-2-behind-the-scenes-joel-kinnaman-03-570x846.jpg" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="269" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's a thrilling new story about trying to look as much like Batman as possible.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So what <b>is</b> <i>Robocop</i> about? (well, this time, anyway?) Detective Alex Murphy (<i>The Killing</i>'s Joel Kinnaman) is a devoted and honest cop who finds himself in critical condition after a hit on his life by local arms dealers who he has been doggedly trying to take on against his superiors' wishes. Covered in fourth-degree burns and almost impossible to salvage, his wife (Abbie Cornish) is pressured by Omnicorp to consent to a procedure that transforms him into Robocop, America's next step in law enforcement. Part-man and part-machine, he is Omnicorp's loophole around dogged laws to keep their products off of home soil, with CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) hoping to sway public opinion on robotic crime control by giving Americans a human face they can put their support behind. But problems ensue as OmniCorp wishes to make their new product more efficient and easier to control, pushing their well-intentioned Chief Scientist Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman) into tinkering with Murphy's new programming, to give him the illusion of free will. So who's pulling the trigger when the combat visor goes down? Can Murphy's sense of humanity overcome his directives? And can he ever reconnect with his struggling family?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mr. Kinnaman doesn't seem so pleased that the studios just won't let <i>The Killing </i>die away already...</span></td></tr>
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This iteration of the <i>Robocop</i> story points the lens less towards satire and more towards tragedy and ethical debates. How much can one control innate human will? What defines our humanity in the first place? Can a corporation really claim control over Robocop, a man rebuilt as a machine? Should machines really be allowed to pull the trigger? With our innate emotions, our weaknesses and our frailties, what gives <b>us</b> the right to pull the trigger? Is the problem with Omnicorp's robotics enforcement in foreign policy more the robots themselves or the corporate people in charge of them? The film dangles all these surprisingly thoughtful ideas over our heads, all while focusing on Robocop himself as a modern-day Frankenstein's monster, cursed to live again as a shell of a man. It would never have been the classic that the original film was, but this new <i>Robocop</i> has some real ingredients to work with, which could have made for a great remake.<br />
What holds it back is the overall execution. Trying to juggle so many ideas in a sci-fi action film is inevitably going to leave some of those thoughts less developed than others, and <i>Robocop</i> is no exception. In its need to adhere to action movie formula, it can't help but miss some opportunities for further introspection. At the same time, some of these ideas are literally spelled-out for the audience, usually in the Omnicorp boardroom scenes. It's admirable that the movie tries to explore so much, but it needs to show some more faith in its audience to pick up on the points it wants to make (this is something the original managed to handle quite well).<br />
Much ballyhoo has been made over the film's PG-13 rating, a stark contrast to the original film's famous over-the-top ultraviolence, which not only made it more entertaining but also supported its satirical intents (just watch the famous ED-209 boardroom scene as an example). While the new film's PG-13 isn't quite the death sentence that many fans had predicted, it's still a film that's desperately begging for more bite and edge. Things like Robocop's new stun gun makes sense in the film's context (there's more expectation of him to actually bring targets in alive this time), but the movie just can't shake the feeling of being neutered from the more high-minded ambitions of the filmmakers.<br />
The action sequences in general are slick and well-shot, with solid staging and traces of his more handheld-cam aesthetic carried over from the <i>Elite Squad</i> movies. But they only prove entertaining on a superficial level, lacking much in the way of weight or stakes, particularly during the film's bland, slapped-together climax (it doesn't help that no matter how hard you try, I'll never be able to see the ED-209s as a credible threat- if you know the original it's obvious why). There should be something, anything at stake here, but instead it just feels like a sequence of "this happens, then this happens"- it <b>literally</b> feels mechanical. The film as a whole could have used less sheen and more grit- more R-rated violence would undoubtedly improve the film, but used in a different, more serious context than the original. Stronger violence would heighten the stakes while conveying a greater sense of consequences to the action, as a result bolstering the strength of the film's intended ethical questions. <br />
On a (somewhat) more personally irksome note is the film's backwards steps in female representation. Now I'm not saying that the original <i>Robocop </i>was some paragon of women's empowerment (most of the women seen are 80s prostitutes and potential rape victims), but the film did prominently feature Murphy's old partner Anne Lewis, a tough, capable cop who just happens to be a woman, and who's anything but helpless. Here her character is changed into a man, and as much as we all love <i>The Wire</i>'s Michael K. Williams this can't help but feel like a push in the wrong direction. Not that keeping the character's gender would have helped much, as Lewis' presence in the plot is almost completely perfunctory this time around anyway (proving just how often Hollywood doesn't know what to do with perfectly good actors). The only really prominent female character in the cast is Abbie Cornish, who is stuck playing the same generic wife/love interest character we've seen a bajillion times before. Cornish certainly isn't a bad actress, but she's given so very little to work with most of the time (the scene where Alex, now Robocop, comes home to see his family for the first time in 4 months is the only one that really stands out at all). Eventually she's held hostage at gunpoint along with Murphy's son during the climax, because the creative team clearly couldn't think of anything better to do with her character. If there's anything a remake shouldn't do, it's being <b>less</b> progressive than the original.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Because if there's one thing this <i>Robocop</i> needs, it's these dead weights</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Cornish and Williams are indicative of most of the film's cast- serviceable, adequately conveying what the plot requires them to, but lacking in much charisma or anything particularly memorable. Kinnaman's lead performance as Murphy at least has some meaty material to work with, but even with his whole face to act with most of the time (an advantage Peter Weller didn't have throughout much of his tenure as Robocop) he never really jumps out with much personality. At the very least it's clear he's making an effort, he just can't hope to match up to Weller's work in the original. <br />
Keaton as the main villain is appropriately slimy and shrewd and a good fit for his role, though his main role seems to be coming up with eureka moments that he can speech about or mull over like he's hosting some evil <i>TED Talk</i> segment. Jackie Earle Haley likewise is appropriately douchey as Mattox, Robocop's trainer (and later Sellars' right-hand man), but around the halfway point the film struggles to find space to squeeze him into the story. The only members of the cast who really get to stand out are Gary Oldman's Dr. Norton and Samuel L. Jackson as the host of a Fox News-style news/propaganda show called <i>The Novak Element</i>. Oldman is the film's true MVP, elevating the stock role of conflicted scientist into a person with genuinely good intentions, doing so much to sell the viewer on the tragedy of Murphy/Robocop's situation. The best scenes in the film are between him and Kinnaman, where we see just what's left of Robocop that's actually human (I personally found the image of Murphy's lungs, still pumping while contained in glass containers, to be particularly unsettling). Jackson meanwhile just seems to be having a great time being, well, Samuel L. Jackson (then again, wouldn't you if you were him?). His segments are interspersed at various points in the film, essentially replacing the fake news broadcasts and commercials present in the original. Jackson's presence goes quite a ways to helping these scenes imbue the film with some much-needed sense of the original's satire and humor, which is otherwise lacking in the main story (although some bits of the boardroom meetings at Omnicorp have their moments). <br />
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<i>Robocop</i> is an interesting case. It's not exactly a good film per se, but it is a film with good elements to it, and remains surprisingly watchable throughout despite its (undoubtedly apparent) flaws. It's not even close to matching the standards of the original 1987 film, but there was really never a chance of that to begin with. Stopping to accept that, the new <i>Robocop</i> does effectively distinguish itself as its own take on the material, better than many other remakes can claim (especially fellow Paul Verhoeven remake <i>Total Recall</i>). It's execution is a touch too tame (and even sloppy) at times, but its efforts are apparent and most definitely appreciable.<br />
So yeah, I just might buy that for a dollar (hey, if you think <u>that</u> reference was weak, just watch how this movie throws it in).<br />
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<h3>
<b>Final Score: 6/10</b></h3>
<u><b>Pros:</b></u><br />
<b>+ Effectively distinguishes itself from the original</b><br />
<b>+ Plays with intriguing science fiction ideas of free will and the ethics of machines</b><br />
<b>+ Explores more tragic elements of the material and the character </b><br />
<b>+ Gary Oldman's invaluable elevation of the material</b><br />
<b>+ Samuel L. Jackson, pretty much being Samuel L. Jackson</b><br />
<b>+ It's not Robocop 3</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<u><b>Cons:</b></u><br />
<b>- The PG-13 rating, while not a complete dealbreaker, undeniably holds the film back from having more bite and edge</b><br />
<b>- Most of the cast, including Kinnaman in the lead, is mainly just serviceable and not much else</b><br />
<b>- Some of the ideas are <i>too</i> spelled-out </b><br />
<b>- Action scenes in general are slick, but entertaining in only a superficial sense</b><br />
<b>- Underwhelming, slapped-together climax</b><br />
<b>- Gender-wise it's actually <i>less</i> progressive than the original</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17168738358807630454noreply@blogger.com0Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4215296 -75.69719309999999344.7060866 -76.988086599999988 46.1369726 -74.4062996